I’ve been working on a new project lately, and it’s almost ready to launch.
The Sticky Menu Plan has always been a free menu planning system and it will always remain free to anyone who cares to follow it. However, sometimes folks need a little boost. I’m putting together a notebook to do just that. The Sticky Menu Plan Workbook is almost ready to provide the help some of you have asked for. It’s a menu planning binder that holds over 120 of my most popular recipes with their own stickies. It’s all organized so that all you have to do is pick what you like and place the stickies on the weekly calendar. Life happens, and plans change, so move the stickies around. That’s The Sticky Menu Plan!  Plus Packs, with more recipies and their own stickies, are in the works as well.
Now, here’s what’s been cooking on the stove around here.
I’ve had enough of all the holiday cooking. It’s time for some simple winter comfort food. Sometimes a little cooking goes a long way, especially when you’re cooking for two. That’s the case when I stew up a pot of My Chicken and Dumplings. That’s comfort food in the true sense of the word. A pot of dumplings simmering on the stove perfumes the whole house with a sense of warmth.

Meatless Monday didn’t happen. We went out to eat instead. Since Monday’s planned Spinach Quiche slipped to Tuesday, a little bacon slipped in too. What did I say in my last post about bacon? Oh well!
I did make up for the bacon with a new side dish. My Butternut and Kale Skillet is really hearty enough to be a meatless main dish. The leftovers were very good as lunch the next day.
Friday we enjoyed a revamped version of Tequila Lime Chicken and Shrimp. Without thinking, I used all my fresh lime juice in the marinade. When I was ready to prepare the Avacado Cream sauce that is part of the recipe I had no lime juice left. I just left it out, and you know what? Michael and I both liked it better that way. I’ve re-written the recipe to reflect that change.

I’ve always believed in the notion that recipes are just a guideline. Make it how you like it. That was the case with my last batch of Grillades. The recipe calls for sliced pork medallions, but I had just butchered a pork loin and had some cut into cubes. They may have looked different, but the taste was the same. Yummy! Brown rice served as a base to soak up all that wonderful sauce.
Now it’s time for me to go finish my Sticky Menu Plan Workbook.
Be thankful for what life gives you.
I am.

Plunging headlong into another new year, I’m not a resolution maker. That’s because I learned a long time ago that I’m not a resolution keeper. What the New Year does do for me, though, is make me take stock of my life. I recognize what I have done well and what I could have done better. To my way of thinking, as long as the good outweighs the bad I’m doing all right. Of course, there’s always room for improvement.
Now it’s time to make up for my “sins”. The over indulgence of the holiday season is showing, especially in my waist line. I’ll try to eat a little better, but that won’t last long. I like to cook too much, and bacon and butter jump out of my fridge too often.
One of my holiday splurges was a very large Beef Tenderloin. I used a new cooking method suggested by Cook’s Illustrated. The roast is cooked low and slow, then seared over high heat at the end. This tenderloin turned out perfectly. I purchased the tenderloin untrimmed and did it myself. That cut of meat is too expensive to waste one bit on the fast trim job the butchers do. The trimmings went into another pot to make True Au Jus. We savored every morsel.

I used my newest toy, a deli-style meat slicer, to slice the leftovers to just the right thickness for Redneck Cheesesteak Subs. The last of the au jus was finished off in French dip sandwiches. We just piled sliced tenderloin onto hoagie rolls and dunked away.
New Years Eve was celebrated a little differently this year.  We watched Alabama win in the Cotton Bowl. Football games require their own set of football food, none of which is diet friendly. Michael always has his special pizza and I usually enjoy some sort of deli sandwich, but the best part of football food is the snack food. It’s both amazing and sinful that we manage to devour so much of it. Spicy Sausage Balls are always on the table, along with a bowl of Bold Party Mix and Slice and Bake Cheese Crackers. My favorite this time was warm and cheesy Spinach and Artichoke Spread. Is it any wonder I’m having a hard time buttoning my jeans?

New Years day it was time to start paying the piper, and we didn’t do too badly. Sunday Pork Roast has a whole lot of flavor, but not too many calories. Pink Eyed Peas (for luck) and simple boiled cabbage (for money) are pretty good for the diet, too. We even skipped the dessert!
I’m getting tired of leftovers, no matter how I disguise them. It’s time to move on. There’s no telling what I might come up with in the coming week, but I’ll try to keep the bacon and the butter in their place.
Be thankful for what life gives you.

Another year over
and a new one just begun”
John Lennon sang that song years ago.To me it’s still relevant. If you want to read the full lyrics, click here http://www.metrolyrics.com/so-this-is-christmas-lyrics-john-lennon.html .
We had a wondeful Christmas, a bit hectic, but full of family and of course food.
Many families celebrate with a Christmas turkey, but not us. After the Thanksgiving bird we’re ready to move on to something else. That being said, I can’t miss out on the sales and $.59 per pound is just not to be passed up. So what do I do with that 59 cent turkey? Smoke it! Done right, Smoked Turkey has a flavor like no other and retains its moisture, too. I always ask Michael to slice a few thick pieces for dinner and then slice the rest down thinner for sandwiches.

I don’t know how your color shows up on this picture of sliced smoked turkey breast, but on my computer it looks pink. That is not under-cooked turkey. It is the rich smoke flavor that traveled all the way through!
A couple of new recipes were added this week. Chicken Rosa Maria was based on a dish served at a local chain restaurant. Oh my, was it ever good! It was a little complicated to put together, but cooked quickly. A new side dish, Risotto with Mushrooms and Spinich went with it nicely.

The next night’s dinner was not such a success. I’m always trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to persuade Michael to eat more fish. Ok, I’ll try once more. He prefers his fish fried, likes Po’Boy sandwiches, and a good spread of Coastal Remoulade ought to mask any of that “fishy taste” that turns him off. Wrong, wrong, and wrong! The fish was baked, not fried. There was too much bread. And worst of all, the cod tasted like FISH! At least he liked the tomatoes, but they slipped off onto his plate to be eaten with a fork. Well, I tried. Christmas Eve I went back to the familiar, Shrimp and Grits .
Even without any small children to wake us, Christmas morning came early. Bella was ready to open her presents! She’s quite the pro.

Lizzie, not so much. You can almost see her thinking…”I don’t know what to do with all this, so I’ll just sit here and guard it.” And that’s what she did.
Emily did the bulk of the Christmas entertaining at her house this year. As usual, she did a good job. Emily has turned out to be an excellent cook and hostess. Her main course on Christmas Day was a baked ham. I took a couple of side dishes to go with it all, our ususal Broccoli Casserole, Faster Yeast Rolls, and a Red Velvet Cake. Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but this year I used a box cake mix. Last year’s recipe is really a superior cake, but I just didn’t want to deal with all that red food coloring again. I’m a pretty sloppy cook and red food coloring makes a mess! Notice the candy canes holding the wrap off the icing. That trick works well.

We went back over to Emily’s the day after Christmas and were joined by Aaron’s family, including  Jen’s mother, Joyce. Our late lunch that day was a collection of soups and such. Emily makes a good chili and a good cheeseburger soup. I took a pot of Clam Chowder and a Dutch Apple Pie.

I must have been worn out that day, because neither recipe came up to standard. I poured too much milk into the chowder and selected the wrong pie dish. The chowder had little clam flavor and the pie ran out all over the place. We all had a nice time anyway.
“And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young.
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear” John Lennon
Be thankful for what life give you.

These days, Michael just looks at me and shakes his head and asks “Why are you doing all this? We’ll never eat all of these and you’ll just wind up throwing it all away.” It’s in my genes and I can’t help it! Even though I don’t eat a lot of sweets myself, I can’t have Christmas without trays of cookies and candies to share. Period!
I have been in cookie mode, but we have had to have dinner, too, so let me start there. We began the week on Sunday with one more meal cooked out on the grill. We are in Alabama, and December days in the 70’s are not at all uncommon.  Best Beef Burgers were the order of the day,

Meatless Monday we went retro with an old fashioned bowl of Southern Style Pinto Beans topped with diced Vidalia onions and served with Sweet Sour Cream Cornbread on the side. I’m not a Southerner by birth, but every once in a while I do adopt the customs.
Tuesday was a new recipe, Asian Flavored Beef with Cauliflower, kind of a twist on Beef and Broccoli. This stir fry had a well developed Asian beef flavor and I intend to make it again. Maybe I’ll remember to buy the green onions that were supposed to go on top.

Wednesday’s venture into another new recipe was a total failure, and an expensive one at that! I read a recipe for a polenta version of lasagna with mushrooms and it sounded good, so off I went. We don’t eat a lot of polenta, but grits are basicly the same thing, right? Not this time. I made sheets of Parmesan cheese grits and chilled them to layer between about three pounds of mixed mushrooms, some of my Fresh Ricotta Cheese, and a quick tomato sauce. What a mess! The grits melted into everything else and my carefully crafted lasagna became a pile of mush with no distinguishable flavor at all. We didn’t even save the leftovers.
Thursday I took the easy way out and pulled the beef for Patty Melts out of the freezer. If you’ve never had a Patty Melt, they are a wonderfully gooey grilled combination of a hamburger patty with caramelized onions and plenty of cheese on rye bread. The only thing that isn’t left out is all the calories and fat grams. Patty Melts definitely fall into the occasional treat catagory.

Friday’s fish dish never appeared. A bowl of Turkey Poblano Chowder took its place,  More time for baking cookies!
And here they come…
Many people make ginger bread men for the holidays, and when Emily and Aaron were small, we did too. Now I serve a more grown-up version, Jean’s Gingersnaps.  They are brightly spiced and crispy and the first thing Michael goes for on the cookie plate.

About the same time as I started making ginger snaps a Layered Peppermint Fudge became Aaron’s favorite. The original recipe was made with peppermint buttercream sandwiched between two layers of real cooked fudge and it was a morning long pain in the you-know-what to make. I recently found this short cut using melted chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. It is much easier to do than the earlier one, but I don’t think it has as rich a texture. I guess it’s a trade off, and sometimes at this time of year the easy way wins.
A couple of new cookies made this years plate. Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Thumbprints are impressive, but surprisingly easy to make.

Maple Walnut Bites weren’t difficult either. The only trick to those is to resist over filling the mini muffin cups, but using a small scoop helps. I do think I’ll increase the maple extract a bit the next time I make them to give a stronger maple note.
I think my favorite cookie for this year is the delicate Peppermint Meltaways. They are Christmas in one bite!

I still have a lot to do before the big day comes, and it will come whether I’m ready or not, so I’d best get busy. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.
Be thankful for what life gives you, and Merry Christmas!

Normal? Not me! But it’s nice to hanve a “normal” week without all the far too common bumps in the road. I actually got to follow my Sticky Menu Plan without having to move the stickies around.
One of my favorite cuts of meat is the chuck roast. I think the humble chuck is the most versatile cut of meat. It is my meat of choice for ground beef and all its uses. (Ask your butcher to grind the roast you select and you’ll always know where your hamburger came from.) A whole roast makes the best pot roast, and when it is cubed you have the beginnings of stews and soups. Anyway, when ever chuck roast goes on sale I jump on it. This week we enjoyed a Sunday Pot Roast with a big pot of creamy  Mashed Potatoes. I made extra potatoes to go with the leftover roast and vegetables later in the week.

Monday was almost meatless, but not quite. We enjoyed a little Taco Seasoned Beef on top of a big plate of Taco Salad Our Way. Adding the beef wasn’t manditory, but it sure tasted good in that quick dinner.
Tuesday was a busy day at home with both a cable repairman and a heating system and plumbing check up. I don’t really like to cook with repairmen lurking around the house, so it was time for some freezer food. Spring Time Manicotti was listed as the oldest meal in my freezer inventory and that’s what we had.  The casserole had been well wrapped for the freezer and it reheated as if I had baked it just the day before.
Wednesday was time to use up the leftover pot roast, vegetables, and mashed potatoes. I had intended to combine them all into a Shepherd’s Pie. I simply cube up the leftover pot roast and veggies, bathe them in the leftover gravy, and top them with the mashed potatoes in a loaf pan before baking until hot. Instead, I decided to make a biscuit topped Beef Pot Pie. The mashed potatoes went into the freezer for another day, and they will reheat well because of the cream cheese in that recipe.

I had some extra time this week and used it to throw together a pot of Spicy Cabbage Soup. If you like vegetables, you’ll love this soup, and you’ll love the fact that you can fill up on as much as you like. Each flavorful serving has only 86 calories, but 6 grams of fiber. You can’t go wrong with that, can you?
Football season is over now, except for the play-offs, but somehow our boiled peanut habit hasn’t stopped. We discovered that the grocery where Michael got his football pizza on Saturdays also sold some pretty good Cajun Boiled Peanuts. I may not make a pizza as well as those Michael craves, but I figured out how to boil the peanuts. It’s not at all hard to do if you can locate raw peanuts in the shell.

Still trying to use up my freezer stash, a package of phyllo pastry combined with the very last of my apples to make Apple Phyllo Roll-ups. The roll of phyllo was just right for five of these mini-strudels. We baked one to eat when I made them and the other four went into the freezer. I guess instead of emptying the freezer I just converted a small part of the contents. Oh well, it’s always good to have things you can pull out for a last minute treat.
Be thankful for what life gives you.

Sometimes life’s circumstances make it hard to keep things on schedule. So it has been for us with a family medical issue. I’ve lost track of exactly what we had for dinner, or for that matter what all I cooked, in the week leading up to Thanksgiving weekend. I do have some photos of the results, so I’ll take it from there.
At the beginning of the week I was still on a ricotta rampage, finding ways to use my new favorite ingredient, Fresh Ricotta Cheese. Michael is a big breakfast lover and heartily approved of my Ricotta Pancakes. They were crazy easy to make and packed more protein than the usual dessert-for-breakfast variety.  I’ll have to add them to my list.

Sweet Ricotta and Apple Tarts were another experiment in the field of desserts. They had a cheesecake like texture and taste, but were lower in calories and fat. The caramel topping wasn’t needed, especially in the quantity that “accidentally” drizzled off my spoon. That topping was straight out of a tub of caramel apple dip that Michael helped jump into the grocery cart. I don’t think we’ll be buying it again any time soon. It’s too sweet even for him, and he loves his sweets.
Autumn Fruit and Nut Bread was a successful addition to my apple recipe collection. (Yes, I’m still dealing with all those apples!) With apples, dates, cranberries and walnuts this bread is a little carb heavy but well worth the splurge. Try it with a smear of cream cheese.

Through all the craziness of the week, a big pan of My Baked Penne Pasta served us well for a couple of nights. I keep a stash of Meat Sauce in my freezer, so it took no time at all to throw this one together. Not much more time would be needed to brown up a pound of ground beef or sausage to add to a jar of sauce, or you could leave the meat out all together for a vegetarian version. The cheese filling provides plenty of protein.
Aaron and Jen hosted Thanksgiving dinner this year, and did a good job. My assignment was Broccoli Casserole and appetizers. Broccoli Casserole is a family tradition. No holiday dinner is complete with out it. It’s cheesy and gooey and decadent, but you’ll just have to take my word for that, because I can’t find a picture.
On to the appetizers…Those have become something of a tradition in themselves. Bold Party Mix is the first requirement. We snack on that all fall, from football games to New Years.
Spinach and Cheese Filled Triangles are another requirement, as are Hot Mushroom Turnovers. Both of those are a bit time consuming. This year, after forming a few of the turnovers, I tried to change things a bit to speed the job up.

I already had my mini muffin pan out, so half the turnovers became mini mushroom tarts. Not the same! The little tarts have the mushroom taste, but aren’t nearly as appealing.  I’ll save the turnovers for company and Michael and I can snack on the tarts.
Out of my recipe archives came a blast from the past, Clam Dip. I had forgotten how good that stuff is! Forget the chips, I could eat it straight out of the bowl with a spoon. I think Aaron and Xander would be right there with me. Pretzels out of the party mix were Xander’s dipping utensil of choice.

Jen’s request was Candied Orange Peel, some dipped in chocolate, some not. She wanted them last year, but I couldn’t make them. These fruity little candies are one time that appearance counts. You just can’t make them with ugly oranges!
On Saturday, Aaron snuck away from home to join us for the Alabama/Auburn game. I hope he can continue to do so until Xander is old enough to appreciate THE game. Here in Alabama the Iron Bowl is serious business that demands undevided attention and maybe a couple of beers.  Roll Tide!
I was glad Aaron was able to come and wish Emily could have come, as well. Emily got stuck working the whole weekend and missed out on everything except a short visit with Granny, Michael’s mother.  On Sunday afternoon  Aaron rode with Emily to visit her in Tennessee. I was glad both of them had that little bit of time together. It doesn’t happen often.
Whew! Thanksgiving week really was a blur. Now to get going on Christmas. Where do I start? I’m behind already!
Be thankful for what life gives you.

Ok, was the week before Thanksgiving, and being the organized person I am, (Ha!), I’ve got all my ducks in a row. My menues are set in stone, all my recipes are printed out along with my grocery lists, and everything is going to be perfect, right? NOT! I have a general idea of what’s needed and lots I want to do. Since I’m not responsable for the whole Thanksgiving feast I have plenty of time, at least that’s the plan. And then it happened. We got a call that a family member was being rushed to the hospital about an hour away from here. How about a package of peanut butter crackers for dinner?
Ah well, the crisis has pretty much passed, although she’s still in the hospital and we don’t know how much longer all this will be going on. There’s plenty of time ahead for cooking and eating more than I need to.
Be thankful for what life gives you.

I’ve already cooked the first of the season. Huh? No, I’m not nuts, I have good reasons. First, this time of year turkeys are increadably inexpensive. I bought one for 79 cents a pound. But to me, the main advantage of cooking an early turkey is that I have plenty of turkey broth when it comes time for the main event, Thanksgiving. When I prepare a turkey dinner, I do not care to use chicken broth in my gravy or sides. It’s just not right! So, I buy an inexpensive bird ahead of time, roast it and make a big pot of broth to use in all my Thanksgiving recipes. An extra benefit is that I am able to quality check the store brand bird. I’m not talking about some off-brand, but I have found that if a grocery store is willing to put their name on the label, that turkey is likely to be just as good as the big national brand. So…here we go.
I actually started on the turkey trail a day ahead of time by preparing the Brine for my Brined Roast Turkey with Giblet Gravy . Brining your turkey is an extra step, but well worth the effort. Not only is the turkey more moist and flavorful, but you can be assured that the turkey is truly thawed all the way through.  I also simmered the neck, tail, and giblets, minus the liver, for a little foundation broth. Then Sunday we had our first roast turkey of the season.

Meatless Monday was simply some Fresh Tomato, Spinach, and Tortellini Soup. Using a base of Fresh Tomato Soup from the freezer made dinner no work at all. Instead, I used my time to take care of that leftover turkey.  The first order of business was to use the turkey carcass to make a big pot of broth. It’s really just the same recipe as my Rich Chicken Stock, but in larger quantities.  I always chill the pot of broth overnight so it is easy to skim off the hardened layer of fat that comes to the surface.  (If you want to, you can freeze a few tablespoons of fat for future turkey gravies.)
Tuesday, while the broth was chilling, we made a day trip to Ragtime Cafe in Hoover, Alabama. That’s just south of Birmingham, about a 2 1/2 hour drive in this beautiful fall weather. I always enjoy their fried oysters and a spinach salad, and Michael likes the tenderloin sandwich. It was a nice drive and good food.  Happy Birthday to me!
On Wednesday was time to get back in the kitchen and deal with the turkey leftovers. Normally, I would have gotten ahead of the game and prepared some of the Thanksgiving side dishes for the freezer, but I’m not doing all the cooking again this year. Whew! What luck! Besides just having Sunday’s leftovers for dinner, I split the leftover turkey and broth into several meals.
Cornbread Dressing paired with some of the gravy to create Thanksgiving Pot Pies. Thanksgiving Turkey Salad is always a good use of some of the breast meat. The dark meat scraps were enough to make a batch of dog food for our spoiled two girls. Bella and Lizzie’s Chicken and Brown Rice with Veggies works just as well with turkey, and makes several special meals for them. It only took one more cup of dark meat to dehydrate a batch of Dog Treats.  I think my favorite recipe for turkey leftovers and broth is my Turkey Poblano Chowder. Besides being delicious, it’s a gift that keeps on giving. I’ll freeze enough to last all winter for the two of us.

You would think that after all that turkey we would be tired of poultry  Well, Chicken Fajitas are chicken, not turkey, and they don’t belong to Thanksgiving, they’re Mexican (sort of).  That’s what I was in the mood for, so that’s what we had on Thursday. The planned Freezer Food, Two Sauce Lasagna can just stay in the freezer a little longer.
Friday’s sheduled Shrimp Quesadillas can stay on hold as well. I decided to take advantage of that turkey chowder one more night before packaging it for the freezer. When you’re cooking for two the freezer is just about your best friend!
Be thankful for what life gives you.

Literally. Let me explain.

Ever since our children were small we would have chili for dinner on Halloween. Chili is fast and filling and would buffer their stomachs against all the trick-or-treat candy. It was a good plan. Now that our children are grown we celebrate Halloween with a chili supper, but it’s not always that very night. Our grandchildren have their own plans. In fact, this year Kaij and Kelton couldn’t find time at all. Xander didn’t mind though. He had the pumpkin pinata all to himself. Thus, the BANG!

The pumpkin pinata was something new this year. I saw one on TV and decided to give it a try. As is often the case, making this little guy out of candy melts was harder than it looked. Maybe I should stick with chili.
I made two kinds of chili this year, our usual beef and bean Chili and Very Veggie Chili. Both were good.

The veggie chili was perfect leftover for Meatless Monday.  I served it with what was left of the Sweet Sour Cream Cornbread.  I think that chili is one of those dishes that is even better the next day,
On Tuesday, inspiration hit and a new recipe was created. Easy Cheesy Chili Bake is just what the name implies. With only three ingredients, one of them prepared chili, it went together in no time and was honestly delicious. I was afraid that it would be on the heavy side calorie wise, but when I put the recipe in the computer I was pleased to find the dish was just under 400 calories per serving. Diet food? Maybe not, but with a House Salad that meal definitely deserves a place on the table.
Meatball Subs were our fast food for Thursday. Both the Meatballs and the Homemade Marinara came straight from the freezer.

We usually keep weekday morning breakfast pretty simple, but this Friday I got the urge to make Sour Cream Pancakes with blueberries. Yummy! That night we had a re-make of last week’s Spicy Baked Shrimp. Michael had commented then that the flavor of sauce was too strong and overpowered the shrimp. He was right. Last night I cut the amount of Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice in half and the shrimp’s flavor was the star. The posted recipe reflects that change.
I got another new toy this week, a gear driven apple peeler. This little gizmo really does the job. It’s amazing! I only wish I’d had it three quarters of a bushel of apples ago.

Of course, when you get a new toy you have to play. It took no time at all to peel the apples for Apple Bottom Bread Pudding with Hard Sauce. I think I’ll go have some of that for breakfast, but I better leave off the Hard Sauce. It’s only 8 AM.
Be thankful for what life gives you.

In fact,I’ve still got more apples than I’ve had the time to work with them this hectic week. It’s a good thing this variety, Arkansas Black, is supposed to store well. I did dehydrate some to give the dogs as treats and worked in two new recipes, one for Apple-Date Bars and Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls, but I still have about a quarter of a bushel left.

Sunday was the quietest day of the week. We savored what was probably the last rack of Smoked Ribs for the year.  Since we had some errands to run and didn’t want to stay home all afternoon, we did do them a little differently this time. Usually Michael smokes the ribs for about three hours on the outdoor smoker, then we wrap them in foil with Rib Braising Liquid and put them back in the smoker for a while. This time I transferred the wrapped ribs to the oven while we were gone. When we got home I simply unwrapped them, slathered them with Rib Sauce, and baked them, unwrapped, a little longer to set the sauce. I think that method worked out better for a couple of reasons: Since the ribs were wrapped in foil they weren’t going to absorb any more smoke, anyway, and the oven maintained a constant temperature. Therefore, Michael didn’t have to babysit the fire and we were free to go about our business. I’m going to have to keep that method in mind for next time. Maybe I’d better write it down in the recipe.
Our dogs, Bella and Lizzie, may be just a little spoiled. In an effort to help them keep their weight down I prepare a special food to serve twice a week instead of commercial dog food. Not too long ago, I made a batch of my Fresh Ricotta Cheese at about the same time as I needed to cook for them. It has always bothered me that I had no use for the whey that is a byproduct of the cheese making. Then it occured to me. Why not use the whey as the cooking liquid for the rice in the dog food recipe? That batch of food was the best yet, and I’ve been cooking their food that way most of the time since. Now we are drowning in ricotta! I’ve been making it about every three weeks.

I admit to having a low threashold of boredom and don’t like to cook the same things all the time. That’s why there are over 500 recipes on this blog. I’m compelled to come up with new recipes all the time. In my mind, finding ways to use all that ricotta requires new recipes. This week it was Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini. All of you gardeners who get swamped in zucchini might want to try this recipe. It’s hard to come up with Meatless main dishes that Michael honestly enjoys, and he did seem to enjoy this one.
Wednesday’s dinner was again ricotta based, but not meatless by any means. This time it was Meat Sauce over Ricotta Gnocchi.  I believe that most written recipes are only a guideline and that a person should make them their own, but when I post a recipe it needs to work well the way it is written. Most of the time, when I prepare a posted recipe I try to follow that recipe exactly the way it is written. I’ve found quite a few issues that needed to be corrected that way.  I didn’t notice anything that needed correction or clarification in those two recipes, but you never know.  I did sneak a few extra veggies into the Meat Sauce, too.

By Thursday we had had quite enough of that ricotta!   A big change was in order.  Chicken Fingers with Buttermilk Gravy isn’t the healthiest recipe I’ve ever posted, but they sure are good. I don’t fix them often, maybe only once a year, but when I do there are never any leftovers.
Just as I’m always trying and testing recipes, Michael pointed out a needed change in Friday night’s Spicy Baked Shrimp. I hadn’t noticed it in the dish when I had served it before, but the Worcestershire was overpowering the shrimp. Michael was right. I’ve changed the recipe to reflect that, but haven’t yet actually tested the revision. I will soon.

With still more apples and a little more ricotta to be used I decided to merge the two into an Apple Pecan Ricotta Cheesecake. I haven’t finished compiling exactly what I did into a real recipe, but I hope to do that soon. It’s late Saturday evening now and I still have a lot to do for our family Holloween chili supper on Sunday. Look for that recipe by some time Monday.
I hope you are having a great Halloween!
Be thankful for what life gives you.