Stuffed Mushrooms...

I made the now infamous LaBarge Stuffed Mushrooms... but this time I drenched those suckers in BUTTER... and O.M.G.

These things are the easiest appetizer ever... and the yummiest too...

Two packages of mushrooms - take the stems out (keep to use later - drench in butter and saute)

One package of Jimmy Dean ORIGINAL sausage (MUST USE JIMMY DEAN - it's got the most flavor built in)

One block (8 oz) of cream cheese

One and half sticks of REAL butter

Brown sausage

Add cream cheese and mix

In a 9x11 (or whatever size those casserole dishes are) glass dish cube one stick of butter

Stuff mushrooms with sausage and cheese mixture

Cube an additional 1/2 stick of butter

Top with ground pepper/peppercorn

Preheat oven to 425

Cook for 20-30 minutes depending on how done you like your mushrooms.

Take out. Cool. Serve. Sit back and enjoy the compliments :)

3 Day Taco Soup

Doesn't it look yummy???

It really isn't a 3 day recipe as much as it was a 3 day mess of mine... it started out as the Bottomless Chili recipe... and as it got to the bottom I was a bit over it... I really need to go grocery shopping, but I'm trying super hard to not break into the teeny amount in my savings account and make it until the next payday and since rent and the phone bill come out of the first paycheck that leaves me with pretty much no choice but to get creative with my pantry...

So to stretch the chili and make it more palatable after a couple of days I cooked up some rice with beef bullion, pepper, and onion powder and add it and another can of kidney beans, stewed tomatoes, and Rotel to the chili... making it a taco soup... the only problem was... I had too much broth and not enough real flavor... because I have this uncanny ability to cook for 10 people and not the one person who will be stuck eating my creations (see photo above of LARGE stock pot nearly filled with soup)...

So the next night I made some more rice adding a cube of butter (good Lord, who am I turning into??? Paula Deen?) and more ground pepper... this apparently was the tasty combo I was looking for... it's yummy! And bound to get me through until payday...

Homemade Tortillas or How I Spent Last Friday Night...

In an effort to feel like I'm doing something with myself right now I've taken up cooking again... so with a rare weekend spent actually in my own home I thought it would be fun to make "homemade" tortillas. That and I wanted some to go with the 3 Day Taco Soup I was planning on having (that's another post).

So I ambitiously set out... I took 2 cups of this and a cup of water... mixed 'em together... rolled them into balls... and flattened them... at this point I was already over the project...

But this isn't something you can start and put aside because the dough starts to dry out awfully quickly (hence the wet paper towels in all the pictures)... so I persevered until I had these...



And at this point my Adult A.D.D. kicked in... so I added some oil to the frying pan thinking surely it would speed up the process... only it really didn't... instead what I got were some decent grease burns... and since at this point the tortillas has dried out enough that I couldn't keep them in one piece I ended up with deep fried bits of tortilla... so I did what every great latina would do... I turned them from fattening to SUPER fattening... added some cinnamon and sugar to them and took them from tortillas to homemade Churros...


So I ended up with dinner and dessert! Okay... by the time I was done enjoying their warm sweet yumminess it was just dessert... I mean the soup and tortillas would keep for a day but these were hot right then!

Tonight I'm leaving dinner up to the real pros... the girls and I are going on a girls night out... here... thanks to the wonder of social networking that is Twitter and their tweet... they don't officially open for two more nights... and we've got a table for 6 tonight... I can't wait!

Idaho Falls Wingers - My PSA

I have a confession to make... I. LOVE. WINGS.

And every so often I get this incurable craving for them... it's horrible... it's a craving only akin to that during pregnancy... we're talking, get the hell out of my way I need a chicken wing type of craving here...

Such was the case as I drove over to Idaho Falls last Saturday... so when I rolled into town I called by "big brother" Kevin to see if he wanted to meet me at Wingers for a late lunch/early dinner before he went to work... he's always up for a free meal so of course he said yes... and I was really, really, really craving the Wingers amazing wing sauce... but...

In the back of my mind I had this scene from the last time that Jim and I were there... it wasn't pretty... the service sucked... and I don't mean just a little... it was soooo bad that we left without even ordering... after sitting there for 15-20 minutes without our order being taken in a nearly empty restaurant... I actually had to go into the kitchen to track someone down to ask for a manager and then to let them know we were leaving without being served (I should mention... WE DIDN'T SEAT OURSELVES!)... we ended up down the street at TGIF where they had much better service and even gave me a free dessert for Mother's Day and a coupon to use on our next visit because they "messed up" our order (they were out of the cute little slider patties and had to make some from scratch)... looking back now the fact that Wingers was empty on Mother's Day should've been our first clue...

I called to speak with the manager on Monday morning thinking that surely they would want to rectify the situation and make good on the horrid experience we had... boy was I ever wrong. She not only didn't seem to care, but actually acted surprised when she asked what she should do about it and I suggested that any other business would have offered to comp our next meal in an effort to keep us happy and coming back... she laughed...

So back to Saturday... it hasn't improved... at all... Kevin and I did get served... eventually... in a near empty restaurant... again... our waitress took so long to come back over with our drinks that by the time she got there we not only knew what appetizer we wanted but were ready to order as well... I went ahead and had her take our order while she was at the table for fear of her not returning (Kevin had to be to work soon)... HUGE. MISTAKE. As Kevin was commenting that it was taking a long time for our appetizer to come out the other waitress overheard him and went to get our waitress who then promptly came out with our appetizer... and she was just as promptly (as in right on her heels) followed by our entrees... yep. Every time (who the hell am I kidding... the two times and that included the once she actually brought the original drinks out) she replaced our drinks we had to ask for a straw... I asked for a raspberry lemonade (because I'm allergic to strawberries) and received... yeah, you guessed it... strawberry. Kevin asked for a Diet Coke (because he's diabetic) and received... a regular Coke... and she actually gave us a snide look when we asked for her to bring the right drink out... we were there for over an hour and the majority of the time was spent waiting on food and drinks... but you bet your sweet ass she brought that check out in a hurry.

So to anyone who is googling the Wingers in Idaho Falls, Idaho and to anybody who lives in this general area and reads my blog... I HIGHLY, STRONGLY, CANNOT SAY IT ENOUGH... DO NOT RECOMMEND THE WINGERS IN IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO... DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME... AND CERTAINLY DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY... go down the street, across the street, or even next door... there's plenty of other choices and restaurants in town.

P.S. Kevin, sorry, my insane wing sauce craving kept me from telling you how bad the service was the last time I was there... that and I really had hoped that it was a fluke... but after seven months it appears it's not a fluke, but apparently their new standard.

P.S.S. I'd call and bitch about it, but I learned the first time that the manager just doesn't care any more than the staff does

Cooking for an Army... or the Bottomless Chili Recipe

What a hectic crazy time it's been around here lately!

BIG things are on the home front...

But for now I'm just taking a quick breath now that tax season is officially O.V.E.R. (well, sort of... technically we filed extensions for everyone... so that means we just put it all off for a couple of months, but you'd be surprised how much work it takes to extend your tax deadline!).

And since my life is always full of some sort of D.R.A.M.A. suffice it to say this week has been even nuttier than usual... poor guy at the office lost his grandmother-in-law and his father-in-law all in the same week (and it was a tight family)... so I did what every good woman in this region of the country does when there's a death in the family... I cooked... and cooked... and cooked... because that's what you do... you make meals until you don't have room in the freezer to cool them all...

Here's my recipe for the world's fastest and easiest chili - it's a favorite of mine that only takes about 30 minutes to make and taste delicious!

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2 small (or 1 large depends on what's on sale) cans of pinto beans
2 small (or 1 large depends on what's on sale) cans of black beans (drained)
2 small (or 1 large depends on what's on sale) cans of kidney beans (drained)
1-2 cans of diced tomatoes and chilies (I prefer the mild for the extra flavoring)
1-2 cans of stewed tomatoes (vary amount by your preference of chunkiness in your chili)
1 lb of ground beef
Onion powder
Garlic salt
Pepper
Chili pepper
Water

Brown meat. Drain.

In a LARGE (the bigger the better!) stew pot combine the three types of beans.
Add meat.
Add can(s) of tomatoes and chilies.
Add can(s) of stewed tomatoes. Squeeze each stewed tomato into the pot. Sounds funny, but adds to the texture and flavor... don't knock it... try it once!
Add seasonings. Here's where it gets technical... about a palm full of each. I know, real scientific...
Add Add one-two cans of water (again depends on your preference of chunkiness versus soup consistency).
Set on high. Stir occasionally. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low roll. Continue to let simmer until ready to serve.

Serve in a bread bowl with cheese and sour cream for an extra yummy treat.

Feeds a ton - no seriously - I've yet to figure out how many servings that is... It last forever!!!

I know for a fact that it feeds at least 4 grown men two servings each so that's 8 hardy servings.

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

Thursday, October 25, 2007

12:47 AM - The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Life


Land o' Lakes spreadable butter... it's real butter with canola oil so you can keep it in the fridge and it's ready to go when you are... just had a piece of toast for lunch and sure enough it did just what the product said it would do... cold, spreadable butter... what on earth will they come out with next?????