Cook'n With Cheddar

Western Spaghetti

2010-06-29T11:23:00.001-04:00

I came across this awesome video today. It was a joy to watch. Very creative! Enjoy. http://gprime.net/video.php/westernspaghetti

Publix's All Natural Tuscan Minestrone

2010-06-23T15:08:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm back. It's been a sad and long couple of months since our beloved Bobbi passed away. For 19 years she gave me and my husband such joy and happiness. We are devastated and will miss her forever.

We now have a new member of our family and his name is Merlin. He's an 8-month-old Maine Coon mix and is full of energy. I didn't realize how much I missed having a pet around the house. He's a good boy.

Okay, on to the review. I went to Publix yesterday with my mom just to pick up a few things. I wandered over by their premade sandwiches in the deli and saw the all natural soups in the same case. I've known about their soups for a while but never really wanted to try it. You see, I am the Soup Queen which means I make the best soups you will ever eat. So, how can a store-bought soup be any good? You'd be surprised.

I'm always looking for new things to try for lunch. I'm usually not hungry during lunch but know I need to eat something or I will pig out at dinner. I absolutely love soup but can't always make fresh soup. Quite frankly, I have a problem with frozen soup also. I don't know what it is but I feel like it has a strange taste after it has been frozen and is not as fresh.

So, for lunch today I open up a can of the Publix All Natural Tuscan Minestrone. Before I bought it, I searched the label for MSG or other nasty things and found none. Then I noticed today as I was eating it, the container says "no preservatives." Doh! It is convenient too. You open the container, slide the included safety sleeve over the container, and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, stir, then another 1 1/2 minutes. I like really hot soup, so I microwaved it 30 seconds more and it was perfect.

I have to say this is a fine soup. It is very flavorful and full of veggies. There is no weird aftertaste and it is very hearty. I did add a pinch more salt and a tiny bit of onion powder. I put onion powder on everything.

So, I'm impressed. I was not expecting a store-bought soup to be this good. I can't wait to try their others. I believe I saw cream of tomato and cream of broccoli. This is a great lunch-time meal. Oh, and I could only eat half the container. There are two servings in a 16 ounce container which, for me, was plenty. I'll give the rest to George for his lunch.

Here are the vitals on this awesome soup:

1 Cup serving size; total fat 3.5g; no trans fat; 140 calories per serving; 19g of carbs with 5 gm fiber; 460mg sodium;

LAS VEGAS RESTAURANT REVIEWS

2010-03-24T15:13:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since my last post. I have a poor sick kitty and have been a little down lately. So, to take my mind off of things, I'm going to tell you about a few awesome restaurants you must try if you are ever in Las Vegas.

I visited Las Vegas (for the millionth time) with my husband and mom near the end of February 2010. We had a wonderful time and our vacation seemed too short.

Of course, Las Vegas is known for it's gambling, night life, and shows. Also, Las Vegas can be a mecca for the gormand. Here are a few picks of my must-eat restaurants of Las Vegas.

BILLY BOB'S STEAK HOUSE AND SALOON - SAM'S TOWN

We stayed at Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall for the first time. It's a nice place to stay where the food is great and the people are friendly. We only paid $22 a night for a nice room overlooking their atrium.

I had been craving a nice juicy steak and read about Billy Bob's online. The reviews were great and I was not disappointed. The restaurant has a very manly western theme and our waiter was prompt and attentive. We started with a shrimp cocktail which came with a fantastic remoulade sauce. Bread was brought to the table hot right out of the oven.

I ordered a 12 ounce rib eye, medium rare. It was perfection. Very tender and juicy. I ordered mine with a loaded sweet potato which was enormous. The meal also comes with a salad. My mom had the same thing but had a regular potato with her steak. George had beef tips over something. I honestly can't remember what he had because I was so focused on my meal, I didn't notice what he was eating. Overall, we were impressed with Billy Bob's Steak House.

More Las Vegas reviews to come!

Restaurant Review - Fresh Harvest Buffet at The Hard Rock in Tampa

2010-02-01T13:17:00.003-05:00

Last week was my birthday and I decided I'd like to go to the Hard Rock here in Tampa for some buffet action and gambling. I've been to the Fresh Harvest Buffet before a few years ago and was very impressed. I was interested to see if the quality had remained the same. I was not disappointed.

The Fresh Harvest Buffet at the Hard Rock is located through the casino (of course) and up a set of escalators. We decided to get there around 4:30 p.m. to beat the crowds. Seems that everyone else had the same idea. The line was quite long and I think we waited over an hour in line. However, I noticed that by 6:30 p.m., the line was almost down to nothing. So, next time, we will go around 6 p.m. Oh, and most importantly, bring your Players Club Card or get one if you don't have one. Dinner is $22 with card and $27 without. Lunch is $15/$20. There are also daily specials that can be purchased for $2 to $3 at each station.

Our party of seven was shown to nice tables and our drink orders were taken almost immediately. Our wait person, Jeff, was efficient and very friendly. In fact, he had us laughing and made the evening quite special. He really went above and beyond the call of duty.

We were starving, so everyone scattered in all directions. There are seven different kitchens to choose from. There's an Italian section with fresh brick oven pizza, an Asian section with wonderful dim sum, and crab legs, crab legs, crab legs. Make sure you get the hot crab legs toward the back of the buffet. There are cold ones too but the hot ones are my favorite. These are the freshest snow crab legs I have ever had!

Also, in the middle area, there's a real fire grill which serves meat dishes to order along with the most wonderful grilled flank steak I've had in quite a while. There's sausage and awesome homemade rosemary chips with this amazing dip. FRIED CHICKEN!!!! OMG...the best fried chicken ever! Red bliss mashed potatoes, wonderful green beans...I'm sure I'm missing a whole lot of other amazing things.

The dessert area is unbelievable. My favorite thing is their bread pudding with vanilla sauce. This is weird because I am strictly a chocolate person. However, this bread pudding is out of this world. If I could make this dessert, I would weigh three times as much as I do now instead of just twice as much.

Last time I was at the buffet, about two years ago, I called the manager over to tell him how pleased we were with the meal. If I remember correctly, he said that nothing is cooked in the back. Everything is prepared out front to ensure quality and freshness.

Overall, I have to say that The Fresh Harvest at the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa has truly earned their name. Thanks Jeff for making our experience a pleasant one!

Open Daily: 11AM - 10PM
LUNCH
11AM - 4PM
$15.00 FOR PLAYERS CLUB MEMBERS
$20.00 REGULAR PRICE
DINNER
4PM - 10PM
$22.00 FOR PLAYERS CLUB MEMBERS
$27.00 REGULAR PRICE
FRIDAY SEAFOOD DINNER
4PM - 10PM
$30.00 FOR PLAYERS CLUB MEMBERS
$35.00 REGULAR PRICE
SUNDAY CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH
10AM - 10PM
$30.00 FOR PLAYERS CLUB MEMBERS
$35.00 REGULAR PRICE

Most Awesome Sesame Chicken in the Universe

2010-01-06T10:05:00.002-05:00

Okay, I know the title of this post is a little over the top but hey, it's true. This is one of the best new recipes I made in 2009.

Now, I loves me a new recipe ... but I love Chinese food even more. So, when I saw this wonderful web site, Blogchef, from Bobby in Recipes, I was really excited. It lists all the fabulous dishes I love to order from Chinese takeout. The only thing it was missing was Shrimp with Lobster Sauce but I already know how to make that. So, now I have my own little Chinese takeout in my very own kitchen. I doubled the sauce since I-like-a-the-sauce. Also, for a little veg, I added finely chopped broccoli. For the cooking oil, I used half vegetable oil and half coconut oil. Yes, coconut oil is good for you! I fry almost everything in coconut oil. It gives everything a wonderful taste. More on coconut oil later.

You will need:

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
2 green onions (sliced)

For the Marinade:

1 teaspoon chicken base
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
ground white pepper to taste
1 tablespoon raspberry wine (or any fruity flavored wine)

For the batter:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Sauce:

3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sugar
salt to your taste
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
black pepper to your tastes

Cut the chicken into 1 inch chunks. Combine the marinade ingredients and mix well. Add the chicken and coat evenly. Cover this and put in the frig for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl combine all of the batter ingredients and mix. The batter should be the consistency of really thick pancake batter. If not, just add a bit more water.

Remove the pieces of chicken from the marinade and dip them into the batter to coat. Deep fry the chicken in batches for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Drain.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a pan and warm over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring and simmer until it thickens.

I placed my chicken in the pan to coat with the sauce but you can just put in a serving dish if you like. Coat the chicken with the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

Pecan Praline Crunch - Salty and Sweet Goodness

2009-12-15T14:56:00.001-05:00

To me, this recipe means Christmas. Every year during the holidays my good friend Carolyn would make this wonderful snack and bring it to work. I now try to make it every Christmas. It's crunchy, sweet, salty, and full of flavor. It may even be good for you because of the Quaker Oat Squares. There are quite a few variations of this recipe on the internet but this one is the original given to me. You might want to buy more than one box of the oat squares because people will be wanting more. I used one whole 12-ounce box and doubled the recipe and had more than enough. You will need:

1 6-ounce box or larger of Quaker Oat Squares
1 cup pecans chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used sticks of margarine)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Apply cooking spray onto a 13 by 9 inch cookie sheet. Combine the brown sugar, the light corn syrup, and the vegetable oil in a microwave bowl. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir. Microwave again for another 30 seconds. Combine the cereal and the wet mixture together along with the pecans. Gently mix and spread onto the cookie sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring the mixture every 20 minutes. Immediately spread the mixture out on parchment paper and break into pieces.

Yamato Japanese Steak House & Sushi Bar - A Restaurant Review

2009-12-12T14:20:00.002-05:00

George, my mom, and I were out one weekend before Thanksgiving looking for a new dining room table. We went to a few stores and decided it was time to eat dinner so we tried to go to Texas Roadhouse. It was packed and their computer was down which made for a very long wait.

We then decided to go to Grillsmith at the Wire Grass Mall in New Tampa. I really enjoyed my last meal there but my husband wasn't too keen on it. He doesn't haven't a favorite dish there, so he doesn't consider it as a place he would like to eat...pppffftt. We swung by there and saw people standing outside, so that really put the breaks on Grillsmith.

I remembered seeing a new Japanese steak house which had newly opened a few weeks prior. It is all the way down at the end of the mall, so I figured, maybe it will be less crowded. We swung by there and opened our car window to talk to my mother in her van. And then it hit us. The most delicious smell coming from behind us. Well, what was behind us? Yamato's Japanese Steak House. Of course, George did not want to go to a big fancy place where you sit with other people at a grill. However, I remember that my other favorite place, Wasabi's, has a separate restaurant area. We all agreed to try it out.

When we walked in we were greeted immediately by a very nice hostess. The decor is modern Japanese with lots of wood, hardwood floors, and adequate lighting. I asked the hostess if they had a separate restaurant area which they did. We were immediately showed to a nice cozy booth and could see out a large window. The atmosphere was kind of romantic and I could see how it would be a nice place to bring a date.

The menu is extensive and it took us longer than usual to pick out our food. I decided we should have spring rolls for appetizers and George picked out tempura sushi as an appetizer. The three of us shared these which were absolutely delicious. The sushi was particularly good. The shrimp inside the sushi is tempura fried and then the whole piece of sushi is tempura fried. The spring rolls were fresh and very good.

My mother ordered a chicken Bento box. I ordered grilled shrimp and scallops with veggies and rice. George ordered teryaki chicken and rice. Of course, I had to taste everyone's meal and all were extremely good. George even said it was on par with Blue Samari which is really saying something!

Each meal comes with an onion broth soup and a salad. Both were very good. My mother's Bento box was enormous. We all had to take home leftovers.

I was curious what the Teppanyaki area of the restaurant looked like, so as I made my way to the ladies' room, I took a look. It is a very large area and very open. Most Teppanyaki places tend to be overly warm but this was just the right temperature. By the time we left, most of the Teppanyaki tables were almost full. I'd like to come back and try it some time.

As I was sitting at the booth eating, I noticed there was a word on the window which said otamay. I was trying to figure out what that might be, then George told it was Yamato spelled backwards. doh! Now we call Yamato otamay.

I would have to say that Yamato Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar is a real winner. We will definitely eat there again.

Yamato Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar
The Shops at Wiregrass
28211 Paseo Drive
Wesley Chapel FL 33543
813-907-8701

M-F: 10am-9pm
Sat: 10am-10pm
Sun: 11am-9pm

Hickory Hollow Barbeque - A Restaurant Review

2009-11-17T11:39:00.004-05:00

My mother-in-law lives in Sun City, Florida. And to tell you the truth, there are not a lot of restaurants in the area. So, on our bi-monthly visit, we decided to find something different around the area. The closest area to us with a good amount of restaurants is Ellenton. There's a big outlet mall there and a nice fish place where we have eaten many times.

A couple of days before we visited, I looked on the internet for somewhere different to eat. I'm not a huge barbecue fan but occasionally do enjoy it. Searching for any restaurants within the Ellenton area, I came upon a restaurant called Hickory Hollow. I was disappointed it did not have its own website but was able to read some reviews left by previous diners. All reviews were quite positive and raved about Hickory Hollow especially their vegetable choices. One reviewer went so far as to say it was the best barbecue on the west coast of Florida. Well, this certainly peeked my interest, so I googled the address and printed a map.

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, we drove to Sun City, picked up the mother-in-law, and proceeded to Ellenton. My husband brought along his Garmen thingy to help us find the restaurant. We got off at the Ellenton exit and proceeded west passing our favorite fish restaurant. The Garmen guided us further down the road and suddenly said to make a right turn. Well, the right turn would have taken us into a subdivision. Wrong!! So, we kept going noting the address numbers were going in the wrong direction. So, we turned around. I told everyone that we may have to eat at the fish place after all.

As we turned around the addresses started to go in the correct direction. And then, all of sudden, there it was...a very tall sign said, "Hickory Hollow." We made it! Funny thing, it is almost directly across the street from the fish place. I don't know why I never noticed Hickory Hollow before but it is right off Interstate 75. The restaurant is very unassuming on the outside and kind of looks like a house. The inside decor was nice with lots of little lights. They still had up some of their Halloween decorations but were phasing into Thanksgiving.

We sat down at a booth and were immediately greeted by the waitress. She took our drink order and we began to pick out our meals. I decided on baby back ribs. My mother wanted country style spare ribs. My mother-in-law also got the baby back ribs. My husband ordered the pulled pork. The waitress also pointed out the selection of sauces on the table; a sweet hot sauce and a more traditional tangy barbecue sauce. By the way, this is North Carolina barbecue which I believe is a vinegar base.

Vegetables are listed on a separate menu. The menu is actually a piece of wood shaped like a pig. The selection of vegs was huge. Selections ranged from creamed spinach, fried corn, zipper peas, squash casserole, backed beans, etc. There were probably about 20 different offerings.

The meal came and we dug in. I had the zipper peas and they were outstanding. I also had macaroni and cheese which tasted homemade. My baby back ribs were excellent. I got a whole rack and could only eat half.

My mother-in-law let me taste her squash casserole. Now, I have to tell you, I hate squash with a passion. However, this was the best squash I have ever had in my life. It had cheese and onion in it and was very flavorful. She also let me taste her creamed spinach which was really good. My husband has the fried corn. He wasn't talking much except for the occasional "mmmmm." I tried his corn and I have never tasted anything like it. It was absolutely awesome! All the different meats were fall-off-the-bone perfect and the sauces were excellent. By the way, every meal comes with two gigantic corn fritters which are the best I have ever had...seriously. We were too full to eat dessert but heard that their strawberry shortcake is to die for. They only have it when it is in season around February/March. They had other selections that sounded great like cheesecake and some others I can't remember at the moment.

If I had to rate Hickory Hollow, I would give it a 10 out of 10. It was that good.

So, if you are ever in the Ellenton area of Florida and would like some North Carolina style barbecue, try Hickory Hollow . . . and order the fried corn. Oh, and very important, they don't take credit cards. BRING CASH!! Here's their info:

Hickory Hollow Barbeque
4705 US Hwy 301 N.
Ellenton, FL 34222-2871
(941) 722-3932

Hours of Operation: ? to 8 p.m. (better call first)

Kitchen Bloopers and Canned Pumpkin Hoarding

2009-11-09T15:36:00.003-05:00

Okay, I'm the first one to admit that I am not perfect in the kitchen...sometimes. Here is an example.

It's Sunday morning and I decide to make the recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes from my friend's website over at The Novice Chef. I print out the recipe and start. Mix dry ingredients...check. Separate eggs...check. Mix wet ingredients...check. Whip egg whites and fold into batter. WHOOPS!!! I had separated the eggs...and placed the whites in a dirty bowl. I broke my cardinal rule. Always read the recipe all the way through before starting. Doh!! So, I went ahead and cooked the pancakes. And you know what? They were fine. In fact more than fine. They were delicious. And think how even more delicious they will be the next time I make them correctly.

Now for an explanation as to the pumpkin hoarding. In October, I wanted to make pumpkin cream cheese. So, I went to the store and there was not a can to be found. I kept going back week and after week and nothing. I mentioned this to Jess over at The Novice Chef and she told me there was a canned pumpkin shortage going on. I told my mom. She found some at her store. Then, the hoarding began. She bought four cans and gave me two. Then, just last week, I was passing by an end cap in my grocery store and there it was...piled high like a great orange pyramid of pumpkiness. I grabbed four cans. I even thought about getting more. No, I have a small pantry. Thus, pumpkin pancakes for Sunday breakfast was born.

Teriyaki Flank Steak

2009-11-03T15:54:00.000-05:00

This is some awesome steak right here! A long time ago, I had this steak at a friend's house and I've been making it ever since.

This is super easy. Just buy a nice piece of flank steak. Ours served four, so we got two meals out of it. The second day, I made fajitas with the leftovers.

I let my flank steak thaw for about an hour and then put it in a plastic ZipLock bag. I then poured a little over half of a cup of teriyaki sauce in the bag. I laid the bag flat on the counter and left it there for around three hours. If your steak is already thawed, you can just marinate it in the refrigerator.

Now for the grilling. When your grill has warmed up, turn the heat to about half way down. Grill the steak for 10 minutes on each side for a total of 20 minutes. It doesn't take long. If you like yours a little more well done, go for 12 minutes on each side.

After grilling, let the steak rest for about five minutes before cutting into it. This will allow the juices to stay in the meat and not on the plate. Slice across the grain, salt, pepper, and your ready. This made a great meal with some veg and pasta. Enjoy!

Good Old Chicken Noodle Soup

2009-10-30T16:54:00.002-04:00

I hope this picture makes you want soup because there is nothing better than a warm bowl of homemade chicken soup. The glistening fat droplets beckon you from the bowl as the little noodles of love swim around the....Oh, excuse me. Was having a moment there.

I cooked a whole chicken the other day and decided to save the carcass and extra meat for soup. My mother-in-law has always made the best chicken soup. I could never figure out how she got her broth so clear. She told me she strains it. So, I would strain my broth. Still, not so clear broth.

I asked her again recently and found out she had left out a very important process to her clear broth. She puts the chicken broth in the frig over night and skims off the top of the broth. So, I did this with the batch of broth and it came out great.

I boiled the carcass for about 45 minutes along with the leftover broth. Chopped up half an onion, two carrots, and two ribs of celery. When the broth was ready, I discarded the carcass and strained the broth twice. I reheated the broth and brought it to a boil adding the vegetables.
Meanwhile, I took the leftover meat off the bones and cut it up in small pieces. I boiled the broth and veggies for about 20 to 25 minutes. I then added really thin egg noodles but you can add any you like. After the noodles were tender, I turned the soup way down and added the chicken at the last minute to reheat it. The seasonings I used were minced garlic, garlic salt, pepper, onion powder, and pepper. Mmmmm...now that's heaven.

Splenda and my Sore Burning Tongue

2009-10-14T14:37:00.000-04:00

As some of you may know, I was diagnosed with diabetes in July. Since then, I have lost 15 pounds and my sugar is closer to normal than it has been in a long time. In my effort to lose the weight and keep a more healthy blood sugar level, I have changed my diet and made exercise a part of my day.

One thing I've missed is soda. I never was a really big soda drinker but I would have maybe three or four a week. However, all that sugar is now a big no no. So, I started drinking diet drinks. To my surprise, they were quite good, especially diet Dr. Pepper or diet rootbeer. After a while, I really could not tell the difference between a full sugar drink and these diet drinks. So, I would have one or two a day.

Then I noticed something. I started developing very sore bumps on my tongue. I've had bumps on my tongue before but these were quite painful and stayed with me for a lot longer than the normal bumps I've had in the past. I figured it was the diet soda, more specicially, maybe the citric acid that so many sodas have in them. So, I stopped drinking them....for about two weeks. Then I caved in and bought more. I went back to my two drink a day habit. After a while, the bumps came back. However, another disturbing new symptom emerged. I developed a very irritated burning tongue. I've never had this before. I decided to quit the sodas again . . . for three days. Burning went away and the bumps. Then, one day, while at my mother-in-law's house, I noticed she had diet coke. So, I had a couple of glasses. Within about an hour, the burning started again. I finally put two and two together and realized is must be the diet drinks. But what was it in the diet drinks? I've known for a while that sucrolose (aka Splenda) is probably not the best thing to put into your body but I never had a reaction to it before. I decided to consult the internet. I was quite surprised to learn that a burning tongue is quite a common symptom after drinking anything with Splenda in it. I found that Splenda has quite a dark side to it. It is the trade name for sucralose, a synthetic compound stumbled upon in 1976 by scientists in Britain seeking a new pesticide formulation.

So, after reading up on Splenda I decided to just go cold turkey. I'm now back to my flavored seltzer water with a bit of juice in it. Now, if I could just find a good canned soup without MSG in it. More on MSG in a later post.

omg........BRIE!!!!!!!

2009-10-06T14:54:00.001-04:00

I was never a big brie eater. However, I bought a wheel of brie the other day to serve as an after dinner snack to some guests. We were so full from dinner, we could not eat it. So, I made it for me and my husband to go along with a Cesar salad the other night. I remember reading somewhere that you can bake brie or leave it out to get soft at room temperature. I found a recipe on the internet for baked brie.

It was very simple. Cut the top of the rind off the brie and bake it at 290 degrees for half an hour. The rind acts like a cup to hold the brie while it bakes. You can then stir in garlic or nuts. I'm sure there's a million ways to serve brie. I served this with some warm crusty french bread. Oh my goodness! It was like heaven!!! gonna buy more brie tomorrow... hehe

Sweet and Sour Pork UPDATE!

2009-10-01T11:16:00.004-04:00

Hey guys. Just made Sweet and Sour Pork yet again, last night. I added pineapple chunks (canned) at the last minute. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. That really made it special. Try it! p.s. Used the juice from the can in the recipe too. Saved me from having to buy a huge can of pineapple juice.

Sweet and Sour Pork

2009-09-27T11:41:00.001-04:00

Here's a very yummy recipe by the ladies of Cook Yourself Thin. This is the very first recipe I made from their show. My hubby came home one day and caught me watching the show. They were making Sweet and Sour Porkchops. He was so impressed by the recipe that he went to the store and bought all the ingredients. We made this dish together. It was so delicious, it has become a staple in our kitchen. After that, I had to buy the book.

I like this dish because it doesn't raise my blood sugar too much. I think it's better than a similar Chinese takeout dish. The most amazing thing of all, it introduced me to bell peppers. I never liked peppers but this dish made them awesome. I have modified the original recipe a bit.

Please note, the key to this recipe is to leave all the cut up bits "chunky." This gives the dish a really nice "mouth feel." Also, when you add the pork, JUST LEAVE IT! Arrange it in a single layer and let it cook before you start moving it. This will create a wonderful crust on the meat. You can tell when it is ready to turn when you can see the edges are getting cooked. Okay, here we go.

You will need:

1 tablespoon of dry sherry
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 pound of boneless porkchops cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons of pineapple juice
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
3 tablespoons of canola oil
1 red onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 (1 orange and 1 yellow or any ones you like) bell peppers cut into 1-inch cubes
Brown Rice (I use Uncle Bens Microwavable brown rice...it rocks!)

Combine the sherry, pepper, 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon of the brown sugar in a bowl. Add the pork cubes and toss until well coated. Let this marinate in the refrigerator. I add a little more soy sauce if it looks like the pork needs more coating.

Next, mix the pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, the rest of the soy sauce, and the remaining teaspoon of the brown sugar in a bowl until combined.

Heat a tablespoon of oil (I use a little more) in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. I have a wonderful electric skillet which I recommend every cook have. Add the onion and cook until browned and a little crisp.

Add more oil and add the peppers. Stir until browned but still crisp. Transfer to a dish.

Add a bit of oil again if needed. Cook the pork cubes in a single layer. LEAVE THEM ALONE AND LET A CRUST FORM. Turn over after about 1 1/2 minutes. Return the onion and peppers to the pan, add the pineapple juice mixture and stir. Cook an additional 2 minutes. Serve over brown rice. Enjoy!!

The Starlight Ball at Lowry Park Zoo

2009-09-27T10:48:00.000-04:00

The hubby and I had a wonderful time last night at the Starlight Ball at Lowry Park Zoo hosted by the University Community Hospital. I touched a giraffe!!! This was a fund raiser for UCH's Center For Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine. We actually know someone who has benefited from this treatment, so it was nice to participate in the event.

The best part of the evening was meeting Jorge and Jessica. What a wonderful couple! (Jorge and my husband work together at UCH.) And I got to meet the woman behind the blog (http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/). It was so nice to speak with her and pick her brain. She is very sweet and both she and Jorge have a wonderful sense of humor. Her blog inspired me to start mine. I hope we will see them again as we really enjoyed their company. Thanks Jorge and Jessica!! P.S. We went in the best haunted house ever at Lowry Park.....NOT!!

Trip to Alaska on the Infinity!

2009-09-22T08:18:00.000-04:00

Stay tuned...coming soon.

And now...for something completely different...

2009-08-02T11:13:00.004-04:00

Well, I found out a few weeks ago that I am now a Type 2 Diabetic. This changes my blog site a bit as I will now be presenting recipes that are more attuned to a diabetic diet. My good doctor, Dr. Todd, has been very thorough in my care. She also believes that I can get my sugar under control through diet and exercise. So far, I have been trying to do both. Even though I am not perfect, it does seem to be working.

I really believe that the most important part of curing diabetes is exercises. For example, yesterday I had my mom and mother-in-law over for lunch. I made a wonderful dish (recipe to be posted above) and a dessert. Both recipes were from my new favorite cookbook, Cook Yourself Thin. Although it is not really a diabetic recipe book, the dishes are low in calories and very healthy. The only problem I have with the book is the fact that there are no nutritional facts listed other than calories. It would be nice if the carbohydrates and sugars were listed.

So, we had lunch, which was a wonderful Sweet and Sour Pork, and then had dessert. The dessert is called Deep Dark Chocolate Cake. It is made with almond flour, regular flour, buttermilk, etc. It does have some sugar in it but not much. After dessert, the moms left and I started to get extremely tired. I have learned that this tired sleepy feeling is the first sign that my sugar is high. I tested my sugar and it was 194. Yikes! That damn cake! I laid down in my bed for about five minutes and realized that this was not going to get my sugar down. So, off to walk! I walked for about 20 minutes. I then re-tested my sugar and it went down to 104! That is a true testimate to the power of exercise in lowering blood sugar. I felt soooo much better.

Another lesson learned...even though something may be low in sugar, it may not be low enough for me. Even some foods that are considered okay for diabetics are not always right for me. So, there is a testing phase when you have diabetes as to what foods will raise your sugars.

I will post more updates regarding my progress in the future.

CINEBISTRO/COBB THEATER WESLEY CHAPEL, FLORIDA

2009-06-29T13:22:00.005-04:00

The hubby and I went to the Cobb Theater here in Wesley Chapel, Florida for the first time. The theater has been open for almost a year now but we never had the desire to go. Now, keep in mind, we have not been to the movies since Titanic! We are just not movie people. We have a nice TV at home with cable. My husband hates the movies because of the kids running around and people talking constantly, etc. Maybe we have just had isolated incidents of bad luck in movie theaters because our recent experience was quite pleasant.

Friends of ours came over and we went out to eat at Wasabi's Japanese Restaurant, which I will review later. Our friend, Tori really wanted to see The Hangover. Well my husband really did not want to see this movie as he had heard it sucked. However, we were done with dinner in time to hit the movie, so off we went.

When we arrived at The Cobb Theater, (http://www.cobbtheaters.com/grove16.aspx) we were disappointed to see the parking lot practically completely filled up. Tori dropped off me and her husband and we ran in to inquire about the Cinebistro part of the theater. Cinebistro (http://www.cobbcinebistro.com/grove-reserv.aspx) is an adults-only part of the theater where you can order food and alcoholic beverages about 30 minutes before the show starts. The cost per ticket is a bit more ($14.50 plus food) than the general seating ($9.50) tickets.

We walked upstairs to the Cinebistro area and inquired about tickets. They were sold out, so we went back downstairs to get general seating tickets. Instead of walking back outside, we saw three kiosks. So, instead of waiting in line again, we went ahead and purchased our tickets right there. Easy!

This theater is very nice. There is a wonderful concession stand downstairs with everything from nachos to chicken sandwiches. I bought a small popcorn and small drink for $9. Whoa! Actually two people could have easily shared the small.

We then went back upstairs to the Cinebistro as there is a bar, cafe, and nice seating areas. George and Mike ordered a couple of beers. They were quite large and priced pretty cheaply. I think they said it was $4.50 for a beer which was apparently a good price. I have no idea since I don't drink. You cannot take alcoholic drinks into the general seating theater.

Tori and I decided to go ahead into the theater and save the boys their seats. The theater is small and quaint. Kind of feels like you are in your own living room. The theater seats are awesome. Very plush with leather? headrests, a place for your drink, and the chairs actually rock. I could see where the Cinebistro area must have been as there was a very tall wall behind me. The Cinebistro area was above us in the same theater.

The theater filled up pretty fast and the movie was hysterical. The last three minutes of the movie are the best and tears were streaming down my face from the laughter.

We had a really great time. I am glad to see that business is good since I would like to come back and try the Cinebistro theater.

I WAS KEY LOGGED!!!!

2009-04-28T14:53:00.003-04:00

Yep, it finally happened. I was key logged last week. I found out from an e-mail I received from Blizzard, the company that runs World of Warcraft. The e-mail stated I had attempted too many password recall attempts. Strange . . . I haven't played WoW in a couple of weeks. I immediately logged onto WoW, and to my horror, most of my characters had been stripped naked. Their gold was gone and they were relieved of all their items from mail, bags, and banks. I was so pissed! I immediately contacted a GM in game. While I waited for their return e-mail, I immediately changed every password for every program and website I could think of, even my banking. I also researched what I could do to prevent this again. I made a document containing all my passwords so I could just cut and paste instead of actually keying in my passwords.

Blizzard sent me e-mails acknowledging my plight and I waited for them to finish researching the matter. In a few days, I was happy to see that all my items and gold had been returned to my characters. I have to tell you, I was very depressed. I felt very violated. After all, these are my babies! I worked very hard and long to get my characters where they are today.

Just as I thought the whole nightmare was over, a few days after the Blizzard ordeal, I received e-mail from eBay. Apparently, I listed a professional version of Microsoft Office for $89. Wait just a second! I did no such thing. So, I started freaking out. I immediately checked my account. Nothing was amiss other than this listing. I then received an e-mail from eBay stating that the listing had been removed due to copyright policies. Good! I didn't want a bad mark again me because someone else was scamming. But what about my eBay reputation? I received another e-mail stating that I had been a victim of an unauthorized third party and they were taking steps to secure my account. I was happy to see their quick response. I wasn't quite sure how this person was going to benefit from what they were doing as I was able to get into my account and my PayPal account had not been compromised either. However, it was resolved.

So, how did I get into this predicament? I am a downloading monkey. My husband says I will download anything and he is right. But no more! If I do not know the site and do not trust it, I will not download. I actually did a deep virus scan with Antivir and also scanned using Spybot and Malwarebyte. Malwarebyte found three worms and a Trojan. All came from fronts I downloaded off of a site the week before all this happened. Lesson learned!

My husband also told me about a neat program called TCPView. It enables you to monitor what ports are opening up going into your computer and from where. It doesn't alert you of any malicious intent, but if you see I site listed you don't recognize, you can immediately pull the plug on your computer and thwart the commie bastards!

I have also switched from Yahoo Messenger, which is not very secure, to Trillian.

I have certainly learned a lot from this experience. Don't be a download monkey like me.

How to Peel a Potato

2009-04-08T20:07:00.004-04:00

Are you tired of standing at the kitchen sink and peeling potatoes? There's an easier way. I learned this technique from my mother-in-law years ago.

First, score your potatoes around the thickest part with a knife. Then, fill a large pot with hot water, enough to cover the potatoes. Then, bring to a boil. I boil them until a butter knife easily passes through. Probably takes about 20 minutes.

Then, I pour out all the hot water and run cold water over my potatoes. Carefully pick up the potatoes (they're hot!) and start removing the skin. It just slides right off! If you want, you can wear gloves of some kind. Another technique is to place the potatoes in ice water until they are cool enough to handle.

So now, instead of standing at the sink for a long period of time, you simply slide off the skins of the potatoes. Very easy! If your potatoes have lost of their heat, just pop them in the microwave for a few minutes.

Thank you Margaret for your inspiration of this post.

CREAMY ASPARAGUS SOUP

2009-03-18T11:16:00.013-04:00

I made the most delicious creamy asparagus soup the other day. I've made this dish before but decided to share it with you this time. It is very easy and can be made in under an hour. Here is what you will need:

1 to 2 pounds of asparagus (the more asparagus, the more creamy)
1 large yellow onion
3 tbsp butter
2 tsp of minced garlic
5 cups of chicken broth
Thyme
1/3 cup heavy cream
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper (you can also add onion powder)

Take the woody stalks off of your asparagus. The best way to do this is to bend the stalk on either side. It will naturally break off leaving the woody stalk which can be thrown away. Wash your asparagus and cut up into a little less than thumb-sized bits.
Next, cut up your onions into chunks. They don't have to be minced or cut up very small because you will eventually be blending the entire soup.

Add butter to a large cooking pot over moderate heat. Cook the onion until soft and then add the cut up asparagus. Salt and pepper and then cook for five minutes while occasionally stirring.

Add five cups of broth. I like to use a product called Better Than Bouillon. It has no MSG and has the best taste of any bouillon I've tried. Then, add thyme. Fresh thyme is the best, but if you don't have it, dried is fine. I add about a teaspoon. Place the teaspoon of thyme in your palm and crush it before adding to the soup. This releases the flavors of the herb.

Boil this mixture for 15 to 20 minutes or until the asparagus if very tender.

Now it's time to blend. I have stick blender which is a must for any kitchen. I use mine a lot. If you don't have a stick blender, you can use a regular blender by adding the soup to it in batches. Puree the soup until it is smooth. Turn the burner to low and return the mixture to the pot. Add the cream and lemon juice. I use about 3 tbsp of juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. And yes, it may make your pee smell. ENJOY! :)

Las Vegas Trip 2009

2009-03-12T09:47:00.014-04:00

THE DEAL

My husband and I had a nice vacation in Las Vegas recently. We got a great deal through Southwest. It was $1,200 including airfare and hotel. This special also included two tickets to any Cirque du Soleil show, discount coupons for food at Planet Hollywood, and a free trip, by bus, to Laughlin, Nevada. If you get the Southwest deal, make sure you order your show tickets before you leave. You'll get a great seat.

TRAVELING TO LAS VEGAS

Our plane left at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday with a stopover in Jacksonville. If you have never traveled to the western side of the country, it is a long trip. I have done it many times and it still gets to me. A five hour long trip on an airplane can be very uncomfortable. However, if you bring plenty of things to distract you, it can become bearable. I recently bought iPod Touch units for me and my husband. They were awesome. I watched National Treasure II on mine and played games. It really helped to be distracted by the iPod. A good book could do the same.

HOTEL

We stayed at the Luxor. This is our favorite hotel. The rooms in the step pyramids are spacious and have separate showers and bathtubs. The bathtubs are quite large, and when you've had a long day, it is nice to take a hot bath.

We also like the Luxor because it is near the southern end of the strip. The traffic on that end is not as bad as in the middle of the strip.

We rented an SUV primarily because my husband wanted to go skiing on Mt. Charleston which is approximately 50 miles away. Don't rent a car at the airport! They charge an extra fee. We could have rented a car at the Luxor. They have them right out front of the hotel. However, they did not have an SUV at the time. So, we walked to the Paris Hotel and rented one there. Many of the hotels have rental cars available and most will let you return the vehicle to the airport.

THINGS TO DO

Our first night was kind of short. We got in our hotel room around 6:30 p.m. We ate at the Luxor's buffet which they call More. They really should call it Less. This is not a very good buffet and is a lot smaller than I remember from years past. The buffet at Sam's Town is much better.

We gambled a bit that night and then off to bed. Because of the time change, you'll be going to bed early by Las Vegas standards and getting up pretty early too. However, as the week progresses you will start a more "normal" routine for the three hour time change. However, this is bad. When you return to the east there is a price to be paid. Jet lag. And to top it off, we returned the weekend of Daylight Savings Time. Very very bad. It is best to try to keep your regular schedule while in Las Vegas, if you can.

We opted to not take the very long bus ride to Laughlin. We did see Mystere, which is one of the Cirque du Soleil shows. It was fantastic. We had really good seats; middle of the fifth row. It was amazing to see what these people could do. I think the strength act was the most amazing.

GAMBLING

I usually stick to the slot machines. It was interesting this time around to see so many penny and nickle machines. In times past, you could only find a few of these. I think they've figured out that people will actually pay more to play a nickle or penny machine than a quarter or dollar. You see, if you are playing 20 lines at 5 cents a piece, you are actually paying a dollar. Most of the machines will not payout the jackpot unless you are playing the max bet. I did pretty good and won about $300 over the course of the week. My husband sticks with his nickle poker. You can break about even with those games.

There are a lot of new shopping malls around Las Vegas. We visited one which had an Apple store in it. We were disappointed that Luxor did not have free Wi-Fi. It's actually $15 per day to connect to the internet. So, we just took our iPods to the Apple store which has free Wi-Fi and checked our e-mail. My husband also bought a really nice outfit at the Old Navy. We also visited the Fry's Electronics store. My husband was like a kid in a candy store.

Sam's Town is a nice locals place. It is about 6 miles off the strip. It has a western theme to it. The gambling there was much better than on the strip and their buffet is cheap and very good. It was only $7.00 for lunch.

Every hour there is a free water show in the center of the hotel. There's a big open atrium area where there is a high rock formation and a water pool area made to look like a Yosemite waterfall. The shows start off with a wolf coming out of a cave and...well, I won't spoil it for you. It's pretty neat.

FREMONT STREET

Our last night in Vegas was spent at Fremont Street. Fremont Street is the original strip and where it all started. It is actually a few miles away from the Las Vegas Boulevard where all the modern hotels are now. We went during the day but Fremont Street is best enjoyed at night. The lights are amazing. There is a huge canopy over the entire strip that has a light show every hour. It is really spectacular, and the glitter and glamor of the night covers up its fading glory. Like a used car, Fremont Street is best viewed at night.

Next day it was time to go back home. Our flight did not leave until 5 p.m., so we got a late checkout (1 p.m.) and did some shopping at the nearby shopping malls. Overall, this trip was a good one. I love Las Vegas!

My New Keurig Coffee Maker

2009-02-02T11:14:00.000-05:00

My mother and I recently went to BJ's warehouse store. As we were walking through the aisles, one of the sample people beckoned to us. How about a coffee? Well, sure! It was a very cold day and I love coffee. She asked me if I wanted Newman's Own Special Blend Bold or Green Mountain Brew. I took the Green Mountain and mom had hot chocolate. The lady put a little creamer looking pod in this strange looking machine and within 15 seconds the coffee was done. What a wonderful cup of coffee. It was hot and not weak at all. We also sampled some of BJs puffed pastries. Very good also. She told us the machine was available on aisle 3 for $129 which included a variety pack of 18 "K-cups." I started to make a beeline to aisle 3. However, the ever practical voice of mom told me to go online and get some reviews of the machine. She was right...yes, she is sometimes.

I went on Amazon.com to read the reviews. I wasn't disappointed. It received 4 1/2 stars out of 5. Most of the reviews were glowing. The only cons I could see were about the cost of the K-cups. But, I'm not a heavy coffee drinker. I only have one a day, so that wasn't a negative for me.

Now, for some time, I've wanted to get rid of my old drip coffee maker. I don't think I ever had a nice hot cup of coffee from this machine. I really never used it. I have instant coffee every morning.

So, the next day I started thinking more and more about the Keurig. When I get something in my head that I want, you better look out. I will get it. I remembered seeing the Keurig at Bed, Bath & Beyond. However, I needed one of their 20 percent off coupons. I always have a coupon for them around the house somewhere. I look in my car, the house, the trash....no coupon! Argggg. The next day, we went to my mother-in-law's house for lunch. She will have a coupon! Nope, no coupon. She called her friend. No coupon. I called my mother, the coupon queen. Yes! Two coupons! So, I knew that night, the Keurig would be mine. Oh yes...it would be mine...and I wanted it before Sunday so I wouldn't have to get dressed the next day and go out and get it. I had this vision in my head of the Keurig sitting where the old coffee maker was and cleaning up that area of my kitchen. That has always been the messiest part of my kitchen. Yeah, I fantasize a lot, but I was going to make this happen.

So, as fortune has it, I recently had a birthday and my mother-in-law, on Saturday, gave me some money. Oh happy day! I knew right away what I would spend it on. My new Keurig coffee maker. I was antsy the whole day at my mother-in-laws...watching the clock...thinking about the Keurig. Could I pull it off? We would be leaving my mother-in-laws around 6:30...still had to go to my mom's to get the coupon...get to Bed, Bath & Beyond before they closed. Finally, 6:30 came, we left and I drove like the wind to my mother's house. The coupon was handed off. I drove with excitement to the store. Yes! It was still open. I picked out the Keurig Special Edition Gourmet Single Serve Coffee Maker. You can see the details about this machine here.

We got the baby...I mean coffee maker home and immediately set it up. You have to go through a brief priming to get it ready for brewing. The 18 K-cups variety pack only had one decaf, and since it was eight o'clock at night, I decided to wait until the morning to try my coffee. My husband had the decaf and liked it.

I really love this machine. It's looks sexy. It doesn't take up much room and fits nicely under my counter. It makes a great cup of coffee and there is no clean up. You just take the used K-cup out and throw it away. The K-cup looks like an oversized creamer container. The best part is the water reservoir. It holds 48 ounces of water. Before, I would have to pour a cup of water in a measuring cup and heat that up in the microwave each time. The water jug would always stay on the counter. I can get eight cups of coffee out of one tank, so that means the water jug can stay out of sight for at least a week.

In conclusion, I would recommend the Keurig to people who really love coffee. You can have a different flavored coffee every day. It's a real treat. I love it!

My Garden and Freeze Damage

2009-01-28T12:07:00.000-05:00

My cousin and husband built me a beautiful greenhouse last summer. We've had a few hits and misses in the greenhouse. Some things like it in there and some things do not. We had several bean plants that just went crazy. We harvested quite a bit of beans over the past months. Corn did not do too well. Kind of produced mutant stubby corn.

Overall, anything that was grown in an EarthBox grew very well. Currently, we have bib lettuce and Romaine lettuce which is looking very nice. The tomato plants are growing very well and my husband recently planted radishes (yuck, don't like radishes).
The Wesley Chapel area saw a few too many nights of below freezing temperatures.

My staghorn fern took a big hit. We had it covered, but there were just too many nights of below freezing temperatures. Even lost three plants in the greenhouse. A pepper plant, tomato plant, and some lemon basil.

More pics from birthday dinner

2009-01-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pictures of my sister's birthday dinner. These mushrooms were marinated over night in olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, garlic, parsley, and salt. They were delicious. I pan fried them just a bit in butter right before serving.

The pizza was perfect. Everyone said the crust was the best. The ingredients are simple: flour, olive oil, salt, and yeast. The secret? My bread maker. The bread maker worked on the dough for 1 1/2 hours. The dough was rolled out onto a pizza stone which was dusted with cornmeal.

2009-01-24T14:12:00.000-05:00

Made my first antipasta plate today for my sister's birthday. My husband and I had fun making it. Doesn't it look really great?
The ingredients are prosciutto-wrapped tomatoes, Gouda cheese, mild cooked salami, Spanish pork, and Gruyere cheese. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil just before serving. This will be served with homemade marinated mushrooms and bread sticks. Hope we have room for the pizza.

The DRM Crap

2009-01-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

I love to make my own videos and publish them on the web. I've been doing it for years. I also like to add cool music to my videos. When I first heard about the DRM issue, I was extremely disappointed. Now, I understand that music, writing, etc., is intellectual property. I wouldn't want my book or music being distributed without me getting some kind of compensation. After all, I worked really hard on that book or piece of music. However, saying that the music industry is losing millions of dollars a year just doesn't make sense. Personally, if I go on Youtube, watch a video, and really like the music, guess what....I buy it. I've been doing that for years. It's like free advertising.

Recently, Monty Python put some of their videos on the web for free. Guess what? Their DVD sales skyrocketed 23,000 percent. Enough said.

Why Cook'n With Cheddar?

2009-01-23T00:14:00.001-05:00

Hi there. My name is DeAnna. When I was younger and my husband and I first started dating, I lived in an apartment with two other girls. All I could afford to eat was mostly Kraft Macaroni and Cheese...With Real Cheddar!! So, my husband-to-be started calling me cheddar...his little cheddar...etc. As you can see, it's out pet name.

I hope to add to this blog in the months to come. I will mostly be adding articles concerning cooking, polymer clay, jewelry making, World of Warcraft, and other topics.