Kroger is recalling two Onion Soup/Dip mixes – sold in several states and stores – click for more info. (Yahoo News)
Onion Soup & Dip Mix Recall
February 28th, 2010 .Recalled Tea Kettles
February 26th, 2010 .Best Cheese Grits EVER.
February 25th, 2010 .>матрациe has been snow here. A lot of snow. It’s finally starting to melt, but thanks to the snow, I have been eating a lot of cheese grits this past month. They soothe the cabin-fevered beast and are a great warmup after shoveling snow. But today, I had an idea – and it was a spectacular idea. Instead of making the grits with water, why not chicken stock? Well, the result was AWESOME.
I wish I had a photo – I took some quick shots, but when I pulled them off the memory card, they were blurry – and I’d already finished the grits by then. (I’m quite certain I’ll be making this again, so there is hope that I can get a shot.)
Best Cheese Grits Ever:
1/4 c. old fashioned grits (NOT instant)
1 1/8 c. chicken stock or broth
2 ounces shredded chipotle cheddar cheese
salt & pepper
Bring the stock to a boil, add grits, stir well. Set heat to LOW and cover. After about 6 minutes I hit it with the salt & pepper. Then at the 12 minute mark, I stir in the cheese. I did notice that with the chicken stock, it was still a touch soupy at the 12 minute mark, so I let it go another minute or so. (In the future I may just cut it back to 1 cup of stock.)
Once the cheese is stirred in, sit back and enjoy!
According to the grits package, 1/4 c of grits is 2 servings. Maybe if you’re eating it with something else. Otherwise, it’s one perfect serving on it’s own.
Happy New Year!
January 4th, 2010 .OK, a few days late, but better than never! Spent Christmas week visiting a relative in Phoenix, got back on the 30th and have been trying to get back to something resembling “normal”. Unfortunately, the year started off with a big old cooking FAIL. Yesterday we had our Christmas here at home, and I wanted to make sausage cheese balls. Just been on my mind for a while and Christmas seemed a good as excuse as any!
Now, I haven’t made these in about 10 years. I pulled the recipe from the Betty Crocker/Bisquick website. I thought the proportions seemed quite a bit off – 3 cups of bisquick, 4 cups of cheese? To just one pound of sausage? But then I thought, hey, it’s Bisquick’s own recipe! They of all people should have it right.
I should have trusted my instincts and found another recipe. They were awful. Ended up as sort of a cheesy dough with bits of sausage and just terrible.
Next time I’ll be using this recipe from Consumer Web Help – the proportions seem much more reasonable and the sausage isn’t so far outnumbered by the cheese & Bisquick.
Ah well, lesson learned. Onward and upward!
I so love baked potatoes…
December 13th, 2009 .
I really do. When I gave my brother a choice of baked or fried potatoes with dinner and he chose baked, I certainly couldn’t argue it.
So easy, so simple, so good. Prep time of a whole 2 minutes of washing them off, poking them a couple times with a fork and tossing in a pan. An hour in the oven at 400 degrees and that’s that. Even twice baked are easy, another 5 minutes of mashing them up and a couple minutes back under the broiler.
They’re healthy (even with toppings – just don’t use an entire pint of sour cream) and easy and one of my favorite sides.
All hail the lovely baking potato!
This is how meal planning is thwarted…
December 12th, 2009 .My little brother made a late day Quizno’s run. Eating “lunch” this late ensures that I won’t be interested in eating much other than a small snack later this evening, much less flank steak & potatoes.
That all being said, Quizno’s Steakhouse Beef Dip sandwich is pretty satisfying. The horseradish sauce is mild but provides a little kick and the meat is great. The dipping sauce may be salty to some people – I know I find it to be a little on the salty side, and I REALLY like salty stuff.
Mmm,mmm Toasty.
The meal planning struggle…
December 10th, 2009 .I’m terrible at it. I’m trying to change my ways. So, maybe if I say it out loud, it will happen! I’ve gone through the sales on peapod and the delivery will arrive tomorrow. In the next week, there will be flank steak, pork tenderloin, and hot dogs!! (And something with the chicken that is in the freezer if I can come up with a compelling idea…)
The biggest challenge I have is nights I go to the gym – it needs to either be leftovers that I can eat early, or something light that won’t make me fall asleep on the couch – and I never seem to realize far enough ahead of time that it is or isn’t a gym night. (Yes, I am that scatterbrained.)
So, now – let’s see if I can stick with it! :)
Oh, Sweet Pickle, how I love thee…
December 2nd, 2009 .
Would a gherkin by any other name taste as sweet? I certainly hope so.
No matter how modern the holiday relish tray may become, you will still sit at centre stage of the crystal tray.
Your sweet crunchiness hits the spot every time, and your tiny diced up bits do lovely things to tuna and ham salads, and my hot dogs would be empty without your relish.
Let us all raise a pickle to the man who first sweet brined a tiny cucumber!
*crunch*
Salsa Jack Cheese
November 30th, 2009 .You may have noticed that we don’t necessarily focus on “gourmet” stuff here so much as “stuff that just tastes good”. I suspect Salsa Jack cheese falls into that category.
I spied it at the grocery store while doing the Thanksgiving shopping and thought, “Why not?”
It’s really tasty. It’s the same idea as Pepper Jack cheese, but with salsa ingredients instead, ie, tomatoes, onion, peppers, etc. It’s not as hot as some Pepper Jack cheeses, but still has a hint of heat, so it’s not boring.
My market sold it under their private label brand, but I do know there are other companies out there that produce it. So if you see it, give it a whirl!
(No pics, cause I ate it.)