FLASHBACK FRIDAY...MEAT LOAF !!

Joining Suzy of Kitchen Bouquet with Flashback Friday... I think the meat loaf was even before my official blogging days!

One of the great comfort foods all over the country.  I orginally used the recipe right off the Quaker Oats box, then started adding in whatever I liked at the time...  Lots of diced onions is a must, then any seasonings you particular like.  A number of years ago my SIL convinced me to add thinly sliced potatoes on the bottom of the meat loaf.  Half way through baking, I drain the meat loaf to get rid of some of the fat from the ground beef. 

In the last ten minutes of baking I mix together brown sugar and catsup for a sauce to top off the meatloaf.  This gives it a little sweet taste which I think adds the perfect touch.   Together with a small salad and some home grown sweet corn and you have a complete comfy meal for these dark cold winter days.

Then best part of this meal - if there is any left, it tastes just as good or better the next day!

Revol Red Rooster Roaster.....

Just try and say that 5 times really quick!!

My dear friend, Marsha from Marsha's Kitchen , gave me the heads up on this cute red rooster roaster, and to top it off it was Revol ... Ordered it right away and arrived wrapped in so much bubble wrap there was no way it was going to break!  It is a beautiful bright red and looks fantastic on the wonderful red kitchen towel with lemons given to me by another dear friend Susan from Savoring Time in the Kitchen

First I had to get myself a chicken to roast, picked a 6 # one at Wal-Mart (first time I have ever seen a chicken with a pop-up timer!) That IS a chicken and not a turkey

Then, the seasoning.  Since I didn't have a lemon to stick up it's butt... see Carol's blog There's Always Thyme to Cook for the explanation of that!  I slathered garlic, rosemary, thyme on the inside of the chicken and then pushed a med onion up it's butt!  After rubbing on some olive oil I used Herbs de Provence, rosemary, thyme and just a little sage on the outside.

Roasted at 350 for a little over two hours... 

I couldn't believe all the juices at the bottom of the roaster...It was the most tender and juiciest chicken I have ever made.  Even my oldest son, who invited himself over, thought it was fantastic!

A few thinly sliced potatoes, tossed in olive oil with sea salt and freshly ground pepper were roasted the last 30 minutes with the chicken as a simple side...these are so good!!

To finish off the meal was a large Romaine salad with everything I could find in my veggie bin...tomatoes, carrots, radishes, cauliflower topped off with homemade croutons which I buy from a local gal.

 (Sorry, no photo on that)

A great meal for a Sunday evening...

I'm also joining Mary from the Little Red House for Mosaic Monday..make sure you check out her blog for links to some great mosaics!

Birthday Celebration

Had a small Birthday celebration for my oldest son last night.. Menu included beautiful Fillet Mignon with mushrooms and Bearnaise sauce. Also tried Duchess Potatoes for the first time..there are many recipes on the Internet for them. They are the perfect potato with steak! A nice romaine salad and a French baguette rounded out the meal. The birthday "cake" requested was to make the brownies I posted earlier but with Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars with almonds!




My son and his GF were in charge of grilling and did a fantastic job..the steaks were PERFECT!! I was only able to get two photos taken before the battery died so they aren't the best..but you get the idea!

One of the guests was Shooter, the dog of my sons GF... this is a photo she took as the sun was going down. Shooter is a Cairn Terrier, a real cutie



DUCHESS POTATOES... Cook's.Com recipe
2 c. firm mashed potatoes
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. heavy cream
Salt, pepper, nutmeg
1/2 c. grated Swiss cheese
Warm the mashed potatoes, if necessary. Stir in the egg yolks, one by one, then the butter, cream and seasonings to taste. While still warm, pipe with large star tip onto buttered and floured baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with cheese. Set aside. Half an hour before serving brown lightly in a 400 degree oven.

Kick-Off to Summer BBQ - Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Late entry but I'm here... I'm joining Debbie at Mountain Breaths in her first blog event "A Kick-off to Summer BBQ" Make sure you check out her blog to link to all the participants, you'll see some mouth-watering recipes you'll definitely want to make this summer!

My recipe is one I found on Canadian Living for Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts! I developed a taste for Goat Cheese and now can't seem to find enough uses for it! Since I didn't want a sloppy presentation I didn't get carried away with the goat cheese spread..just enough to get the unique flavor.


In addition I used another recipe from the same website for Barbecued Mini Potatoes, using little red potatoes! These had a little crunch on the outside and nice and soft on the inside..perfect. Also some fresh asparagus I am eating almost at every meal since they are in season. It helps when I have my own personal source to get as much as I want (my sister, Bev).



For dessert I couldn't find a recipe for the grill that "spoke" to me so I whipped up a vanilla pudding with a caramel swirl of topping sauce....topped off with a white chocolate raspberry mold. I've been waiting to use this new mold set I purchased last winter and they turned out so well, flipped them over and all came tumbling out!




Another event is just around the corner... join Kathleen from Cuisine Kathleen "Show Me Your White Event" on June 23rd! Check out Kathleen's site for details..for some reason I don't think she means for me to show photos of my "big-girl whites" !! Even without that..it will be a beautiful event I'm sure, we can all drool over everyone elses tablesettings!!


Thanks Debbie for hosting this event - I've already copied a number of recipes from other participants and can't wait to try them! I am kind of rushing this post so please forgive me for not getting into many details....

Trying new things….

I’ve been trying to prepare meals differently these days instead of the same old humdrum ways I have in the past. The meal I prepared of slow baked pork chops, roasted potatoes and roasted asparagus with hollandaise sauce was just scrumptious and so filling.

The roasted potatoes were a recipe I snapped up from a fellow blogger Susan, from Savoring Time in the Kitchen . It not only tasted great but it makes such a pretty presentation.


I had always steamed my asparagus but had seen so many roasting it instead. I have to admit the roasting gives it a much better flavor. Since I had a little Hollandaise sauce left over, decided to use that over the asparagus. It gave it an extra flavor that was over the top!

Paired with the slow baked pork chops, which were so tender, there was no need for a knife at all. Topped off with lots of baked onions, gave the chops that additional bit of flavor.

Such a simple meal but so very comforting and bursting with flavor! I guess an old dog can learn new tricks. For a novice cook I am enjoying trying new things which are probably old hat to most of you, but keep teaching me….I'm enjoying your lessons!