We headed out right after breakfast driving ‘north’. The trip was really nice – lots of wildflowers blooming, and the traffic wasn’t bad. Around 11-ish we started looking for a place to eat lunch. Not the same old burgers and sandwiches for us today. We wanted something special. We spied - in fact passed and had to go back to – a very unique looking BBQ restaurant…. The Purple Pig, located between Palestine and Tyler on State Hwy 155 South.

With its rustic exterior and full parking lot, I just knew the food had to be good… and it was. The beef was fork tender, the wide variety of side dishes offered something for everyone – and best of all, the portions were generous. The staff – including Manager, Deb – were courteous and helpful. We’ll definitely be going back – even if we have to make a special trip just to eat there.

After lunch we headed on to Tyler and then to Edom. Edom was having a street fair and the town was packed with all manner of booths selling crafts and food. We didn’t want to have to walk the half-mile or so back to the fair from where we’d have to park the car, so we left Edom and headed down the back roads to Lake Palestine .

Along the way we passed Blue Moon Nursery. Seems to me it was out in the middle of nowhere but you would not believe the number of people shopping. Cars were lining the highway with people walking along the highway shoulder coming and going. We stopped just long enough to get this picture.  

Then on to the lake. Saw a sign directing people to a public marina – that sounded promising – so we took a quick right turn. Beautiful homes and lovely condos were everywhere all along the road… and then the water – for as far as we could see. We parked the car and went for a walk. I can imagine that in the middle of summer it could be scorching hot there – but today was perfect. The nice breeze coming off the water kept the temperature comfortable. . . almost cool. Needless to say we didn’t want to leave, but after an hour or so, it was back to the car and home. Now that we know the lay of things in that area – we’ll be going back. Soon I hope.

 Recipes

 OK, now for the two recipes: Smothered Steaks with Mushroom Gravy and Smoked Salmon Dip. Tried them both this week. The smothered hamburger steaks were really good – very tender. David loved them!! I made them out of 80/20 Angus hamburger meat, slices of bread, dried chopped onions, salt, pepper, then simmered them in a gravy made of mushroom soup, dry brown gravy mix and butter. You can get the complete recipe with directions here.

The smoked salmon dip I liked… David not so much. But then he doesn’t like salmon and he doesn’t like cream cheese – the two main ingredients. I used fresh salmon I had smoked myself, but you could use canned salmon (drained with skin and bones removed) along with liquid smoke, or purchased smoked salmon. The drier the salmon texture, the better. I only used ingredients I had here at the house (one of the drawbacks of country living) but for me – it turned out good. I liked it – especially with crackers. You can get the recipe here.

IF I were going to change anything – I think I might use fresh lemon (not lemon pepper) and add some sour cream to ‘thin’ the consistency down some. Otherwise, not bad. Or if you’re adventurous, try adding in some of your own favorite ingredients like horseradish, cayenne, paprika, etc. Enjoy!

In borderline panic, we called AVG and were given additional instructions about alternate ways to rid the computer of the virus, however, we couldn’t get past the first step. On attempting to follow directions, the computer went wild, browser screens were opening faster than David could close them. This warranted another call to AVG (still in semi-panic mode) – where a tech took remote control of our computer.  If we had only known . . . he was the first of three techs, that would work on the computer over the next 24 hours to get it back up and running. Not to mention that at one point the computer black-screened (full blown panic). We thought for sure it was a goner. The last AVG tech worked 8 hours to recover David’s computer from the black screen, and ended up using more adware, spyware and malware programs than you can imagine to clean it. Many we’d never heard of. Over the course of this last eight (8) hours, the tech gave us some very good tips about keeping our computers safe. If you would like to read more about the free anti-virus, malware programs, and see the list of recommended tips for protecting your computer, visit this link.

I have really been enjoying the weather of late. Have the garden finished and the star deck is completed with the protective base coat on. Have to wait for that to dry really well before we can paint the bricks on. Had hoped to do that this weekend – but, weather report is forecasting rain… so will have to wait and see.

Overall, we’ve really been enjoying the breeze while sitting on the covered deck, listening to the waterfall in the pond and watching the birds… especially the hummingbirds. They arrived last week and I have my feeders out. Even bought a new one that is so much easier to use. Fills from the top and has a vacuum feature that allows you to turn the nectar off and on. Keeps me from spilling liquid when moving it from the kitchen to the outside. Nice!

The pretty red flowers (top photo) are Amaryllis.  They are next to the step leading to the deck right in front of the Star Jasmine vine which is in full bloom and smells so sweet. That is just about the prettiest spot in the yard right now. The petunias in the bird bath are one of my super special hanging basket purchases I found at Lowe’s. The bird bath is right outside my kitchen window, so I get to enjoy the flowers when I’m in the kitchen – which is quite a bit of the time. If you’re wondering about the birds missing the bird bath….not to worry, there is another one in the front yard they can use.

Also, have plans to finish my back porch table this year. You may recall I had plans to tile it (and paint it) …. hmmmm, maybe a couple of years ago. Well I finally found some tile I liked, bought the mortar and have plans to get started on it next couple of weeks. But want to finish the star deck first. I don’t like having multiple projects going at one time…makes me feel too scattered. Also before I start, will need to have David get out the tile saw to cut tiles for the round edges. (Hope he can find it.) Cutting tile is a very messy job with water going everywhere, so we try to do that on a very warm day as he ends up getting soaked.

Cooking tip – David loves crispy anything… chicken, shrimp, fish, etc. So I’m always looking for a way to make those foods crispier. While I don’t like a heavy coating, I was looking for a way to make the coating different and still maintain good texture and flavor.

My last attempt at ‘crispy-different’ was a winner.  I found that if I put cracker crumbs (three crackers) in the dry breading mixture, regardless of what I’m frying, it comes out with a wonderful light crunch. Have no idea why three crackers would make such difference, but they do. And, of course, we only use David’s favorite crackers – Club. In case you’re wondering, my favorite mixture for frying  fish and shrimp is Zatarine’s Fish Fry and Panko Crumbs; for chicken or chicken-fried steaks I use Seasoned Flour and Panko Crumbs…. both with crackers added in now.

Looking for some light, fresh recipes for summer? Check out Lemon Chicken  and Lemon-Baked Sole Fillets. Lemon is such a wonderful flavor for just about anything…. and it’s also great around the house. Here are three uses for lemons in the kitchen:

1. Clean laminated counter-tops – squeeze the juice from a lemon half onto a laminated counter top stain. Let is sit for a few minutes, then rub with the outside of the lemon peel until the stain is gone. Rinse with water.
2. Garbage disposal – grind pieces of lemon peel in the disposal to clean and freshen.
3. Polish copper – cut a lemon in half, sprinkle with salt and then use to polish copper pots and pans.

Last but not least, if you are one of those people who likes to frequent garage and estate sales, trade days and flea markets looking for scrap gold and silver you can sell, you don’t want to miss our article about some non-traditional  items you might be overlooking. Read about those non-traditional items here.

The trip to the auction was a straight shot – no time to dilly-dally – as we wanted to get there early enough to visit. Not knowing exactly where we were going, had the opportunity to use the Garmin (thanks, J&J) for really the first time.

Of course, just like I don’t like to measure ingredients for cooking, neither do I like to read instruction manuals. So, since I was ‘navigator’, I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants when it came to operating the ‘machine’. I can say – all of my knowledge was based on what I had retained having watched Jerry (David’s sister-in-law) operate her ‘machine’.  And I might add, these observations were made from the back seat looking over the console. Overall, I didn’t do too bad. . . just kept punching buttons until I got the directions we were looking for . . . everything was going well until I decided to dust off the screen. Didn’t know that you could move the whole screen around by swishing it one way or the other with a finger! Haven’t a clue where we ended up after I gave it a good wiping – couldn’t find our destination anywhere on the screen… so, thought it better to start over, which is what I did. I know now, you don’t dust a Garmin.

We didn’t stay for the whole auction, but decided to take a leisurely trip coming home. Got to see some old Texas back roads and take a few pictures. Of course, the flowers aren’t blooming and the trees are still bear, but nevertheless, got some nice pictures. We thought this picture might be an old water or grain tower – but with that design on top, looked like it might have been plucked right off an old medieval stone castle.

Took a little time to get out in the yard this last week, did a little more work on pruning trees and  got a picture of the pear trees blooming for the first time.  Still have them in their wire cages to keep the deer from eating them up.

Also, tackled an infestation of web worms on one of the plum trees. They are amazing (the worms) – seems they appear out of nowhere and can just about kill a tree before you know it. Now that I’ve seen them once – will have to be watchful of my other fruit trees.

Had a new dish today . . . new to us anyway. Blackened chicken breast. It was so easy to fix, and thankfully, David liked it. If you’re looking for a quick entree that looks and tastes like you took a lot of time, this is it. I had planned to serve it with some Fettuccine Alfredo – but didn’t have the right cheese – so rice worked just as well.

1)  To prepare, use skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Depending on the size of the breast, you want to either cut it in half (length-ways) or pound to an even thickness between plastic wrap with a flat mallet or plate. Final thickness I had was about half an inch. (Fig 1)

 2)  In a non-stick skillet, melt approximately 1 tablespoon butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil. (This is enough to cook 2 servings. Increase butter/oil if preparing additional breasts.)

3)  Let the oil and butter get hot but be careful not to let the butter burn.

4)  Add the chicken breasts to the hot skillet. (Fig 2)

5)  Completely sprinkle top side with blackened-seasonings.

Note: I only sprinkle one side because we do not like really spicy food; if you do, then you may want to sprinkle both sides with seasoning before adding to skillet.

6)  Let the breasts cook on first side until lightly browned, then turn. Continue cooking until done.  (Fig 3)

7)  Serve  (For a little extra flavor, try spooning a little of the ‘pan drippings’ over each breast before serving.)

Enjoy!

Worked in the yard last weekend – and got so much done. Got out the weed-eater and trimmed everything (front and back), pulled weeds out of the flower beds and did some much needed raking as the leaves are starting to tumble from the old oak in the front yard. I love to burn the leaves – such a wonderful fall smell – but haven’t been able to do that lately as we’re still under a burn ban due to the drought. Maybe if we get some more rain we’ll be able to burn. I sure hope so. If not, I’m tempted to bag up some of those leaves and save them to burn somewhere along the way just so I can enjoy that lovely fall smell.

Bit of a surprise while coming and going getting out the yard tools on Saturday. Can you say snake? Yup – had another snake encounter, only this time it was just the skin. David found the snake ‘shell’ in what we call the ‘back shack’ where we keep yard stuff along with other much needed ‘guy’ stuff like grease guns, metal wall brackets, miscellaneous cans of paint and scraps of wood. The odd part of the whole encounter is that the skin was in a box of tools about 3 feet off the floor. Hmmmmm…. didn’t know that snakes could get that high. Considering that there was nothing under this shelf other than the ground. I have to wonder how he got up there. Guess I’ll need to be more watchful when getting things off of shelves in the future.

I’ve been experimenting with a new shrimp recipe. Lemon-pepper shrimp. These are so easy to make and to eat . . . too easy in fact. But we like them and they make a good compliment to Chinese fried dumplings or if you like, they would make a great appetizer… just pile them up on a plate and let people have at them with toothpicks.

The recipe is below,  if you want to give them a try. Serves 2. (Before I start, I do not measure when I cook – so these are approximate measurements. You may find you want more or less of something.)

Ingredients:

• 24 Medium shrimp, totally peeled and veined
• 1 Heaping tablespoon of corn meal (yellow or white)
• 1-1/2 Heaping tablespoons of flour
• 2 Teaspoons of Lemon-Pepper seasoning
• 1 Teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/4 Medium sized onion thinly sliced
• Dash of salt
• 1-2 Tablespoons of corn oil for frying

Directions:

1.  In a bowl mix together the corn meal, flour, lemon-pepper seasoning, black pepper, and salt.
2. Into the combined mixture add the shrimp and gently toss to coat. Set aside.
3.  In a nonstick skillet place the oil and heat to medium-high. Add in the onion slices and cook for about 1-2 minutes, stirring once or twice to keep them from burning.
4. With the onions still in the skillet, turn up the heat a little and add in the shrimp. Try not to get any of the left over coating mix that may be left in the bottom of the bowl into the skillet.   Cook the shrimp for a minute or so and stir carefully. You want them to cook quickly but you don’t want them to burn or the coating to fall off. I think I cooked mine for about 3 minutes total. If your shrimp are larger – it will take longer. Just use your own judgement here.
5. Remove the shrimp from the heat once they are done as you don’t want them to continue cooking or they will get tough.

Hope you enjoy them!

And just in case you ever wondered, I’m a very messy cook – take a look at my sink when I finished fixing those shrimp! Please don’t let this deter you from trying them – they really are worth the trouble.

Texas Fall Get-Away

PS – If you’re looking for a Texas get-away this fall, consider a trip to the Lost Maples State Park.  The park is located near the town of Vanderpool.  For information about Lost Maples and Vanderpool – visit Day Trips on This is Our Texas or go directly to the Vanderpool - Lost  Maples page here. 

PPS – Check out I Can’t Believe It’s Sugar Free - I’ve added a couple more recipes.

Still hot (100+) and still inside this week. Pretty much just been doing some cooking. Since I really like to save $$$ by using leftovers, I’ve been concocting some new dishes – as you know I don’t like eating the same thing two times in a row if I can avoid it – and I don’t like throwing food out. So since we had spaghetti on Sunday, I had enough spaghetti noodles left for another meal – but wanted something other than meatballs and tomato sauce…again. After scrounging around in the fridge, I came up with (in addition to the noodles) broiled chicken breast and cooked spinach. Sounded pretty good to me. So I set to work. Before I start, this can be served a couple of ways…. casserole or a more traditional spaghetti plate as pictured. I’ll give you both versions.

First, in a small skillet saute about four cloves of chopped garlic in a little butter over low heat. While this is cooking, in a separate pot make a recipe of Alfredo sauce (recipe here) or if you like you can use an Alfredo sauce from the store. There are some sauces available in jars as well as dry-packaged mixes.

When the garlic is tender (don’t let it burn), add in cut-up bite-sized chicken and mix. Pour this mixture into the finished, hot Alfredo sauce and stir together.

Now you can decide if you want to make a casserole or serve on a plate like a more traditional spaghetti. The latter is what we did and served it up with a slice of garlic bread – it was delicious.

Had I wanted to make a casserole, I would have use a small greased ovenproof casserole dish, and then layered the ingredients as follows:

• Chicken alfredo sauce (divide into 3 portions)
• Spinach (2 portions)
• noodles (2 portions)

Repeat layering sauce mixture, spinach and noodles using up all the ingredients, ending with the chicken alfredo-chicken sauce on top.

I probably would have put some shredded Mozzarella cheese on top or maybe some of the shredded Italian 4-cheeses you can buy at the store.

Bake in 350 degree oven until cheese on top is bubbly. Or cool down and freeze for another day.

Either way, it’s a flavorful, quick dish – especially if you have leftovers you want to use up.

Reviving Green Beans

Bought some green beans at the grocery – they weren’t the prettiest green beans I’d ever seen. Some were kind of puckered in a couple of places, some maybe even had a few shriveled spots… but – hey, they were on sale! I brought them home and cut off the ends and then put them to soak – completely covered – in a bowl of very cold water. Let them sit there for about 2 hours. When I came back you would not have known they were the same beans. Soaking in the cold water rehydrated them. No more puckers or shrivels. They looked nice and fresh and I was able to cook them, and have them turn out fine.

If you have a veggie that’s borderline like these beans - try soaking in some cold water. If this works - you’ll need to cook the veggie immediately or at least same day.   These rehydrated vegetables don’t maintain their ‘new life’ for long  but the cooked vegetables will keep for a few days in the fridge.

Thursday – PS

Good news… we had a huge rain storm come through late Wednesday afternoon (almost 2 inches rain!!). Bad news… we were without power for 12 hours starting around 5:30pm same day.

Since we hadn’t had any supper, that was a challenge. Didn’t want to set up the generator … just yet… so we had a 3-salad supper. I mixed up some tuna salad (by flashlight) we could eat with crackers, there was a mixed green salad already in the fridge and I added a cantaloupe-cherry salad for some ‘sweet’. We dined by ‘LED lantern’ and then went outside to sit on the front porch to wait… and wait… and wait.

At about 10:30 last night David decided it was time to hook up the generator and we connected the fridges and freezers. Also, used the power for a lamp and to run a fan to help keep us cool. After living all these years in the country we can pretty much bet that if the power isn’t on in 2-3 hours it’s going to be a long wait. So after getting everything hooked up, we settled down in the den to spend the rest of the night. Sleeping on the floor (on cushions) with the fan blowing on us was much easier than dragging wires through the house to the bedroom and surprisinigly so we stayed pretty cool… especially after opening the kitchen windows. Power was back on about 5am Thursday morning. Guess those guys must have worked all night to get things fixed – and we thought we had it rough.

PPS – David took the picture below from the front porch of the sky after the storm had passed through. It was quite beautiful.

In fact, it took us longer to get the tires installed than planned, since there was the extra gadget step… not to mention the added expense! I mention this because if you take your car in for new tires, flat fixed, etc. – you better be sure the people doing the work know what they’re doing and have the right monitors to calibrate the system. I think that’s why I love my yellow Jeep – no gadgets, no power anything – just a nice plain car that you can drive. Everything is so complicated anymore!!!

I’ve been picking blueberries about every other day – along with black-eyed peas – but that’s about all I’m going to get this year. We didn’t get any plums to speak of thanks to the hail storm and the peaches have been snatched by the squirrels. They love to leave the pits on top of the fence for us to find – pesky rascals.

What with all this and a few other things in the mix for next week – I decided to cook up a batch of David’s favorite fried chicken tenders to have on hand for a quick meal – if needed. We used to buy chicken tenders from the deli at the store – or from a KFC – but he seems to like the ones I fix better and they are a lot cheaper to prepare. I usually fry up 2-3 breasts and freeze what we don’t eat. They re-heat easily and are also good in salads and sandwiches. I know the process looks a little long – but the chicken you’ll get will be light, crisp and moist.

What you’ll need:

• Chicken tenders or boneless, skinless breast meat
• Regular Flour
• Seasoned Flour
• Panko Bread Crumbs
• Egg(s)
• Water or Milk
• Salt
• Oil for frying

I’ve not given any measurements because it depends on personal taste and on how much chicken you want to fry. 

Step 1

1-2 teaspoons of salt and enough cold water to cover the chicken. (This  ‘soak’ works with chicken for any recipe – keeps it really moist) Stir the salt into the cold water until dissolved and then soak the chicken for about 30 minutes. You can leave it out on the counter,  if the the chicken is frozen or put it in the fridge if the chicken is thawed. Main thing you do not want it to get warm or ‘room temp’.

Step 2

Remove the chicken from the soak and pat dry. I like to flatten my chicken between plastic wrap so it has an even thickness and then slice if needed to ‘fingers’. If you all like bigger pieces – you can leave whole.

Step 3

You’ll need 3 dishes for the dips. 1 for regular flour; 1 for the wet dip; and 1 for the final coating dip

1. Regular flour
2. Wet Dip: 1 egg and enough milk or buttermilk to make a smooth liquid. You may find you’ll need more than 1 egg depending on how much chicken you’ll be frying.
3. Final Coating: 2 parts seasoned flour (buy at the store on flour aisle) and 1 part Panko crumbs (this gives it the crunch; same aisle as seasoned flour). If you don’t want the crunch but the more traditional fried chicken coating leave out the Panko.

Step 4

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. You want enough oil so the chicken pieces are half submerged.

Preparing to fry:

1. Dip the chicken pieces in the first dip of plain flour and shake off excess.
2. Next dip the chicken in the wet dip; making sure it’s totally wet. Remove using a fork (helps keep you hands clean)
3. Place in third dip – coating – shake the bowl around making sure th chicken is totally covered with the flour/crumbs.
4. Place in the hot oil and cook until golden brown; turn and cook until other side is golden brown. If it looks like the chicken is cooking too fast turn down the heat some. Try not to turn the chicken more than once and do not move it or poke with a fork if possible as this may to cause the coating to fall off and the juices to escape.
5. Remove to plate lined with paper towels to drain.

That’s about it – once you’ve gone through the process, you can adjust the heat, coating, seasoning, etc. to your taste.

Freeze any left over chicken in a zip bag. It keeps well and re-heats in the microwave easily. Really good with honey-mustard dipping sauce.

IF you don’t like frying, this chicken could also be baked in the oven at 425 degrees until done – you’d need to check on doneness since baking time would depend on thickness of the pieces. If you do try baking it, I’d put it on aluminum foil that had been greased – this will help help keep it from sticking.

I’m a real price watcher and immediately notice when something has gone from $1.50 to $1.99, ie., Marzetti strawberry glaze. That’s almost 30% price increase – of course if we listen to the news – there is NO inflation… except maybe gasoline. Yeah right. 

Old Pedal Cars…. & Tractors

Well we had a grand weekend. Monica and Peyton came for a visit and it was such a lot of fun. Did a lot of  ‘nothing much’ just visited, played with Peyton and sat around on the deck.

David had an old pedal tractor he had cleaned and touched-up with some fresh paint ready for Peyton to ride. She isn’t quite old enough to make the pedals work – but she had a lot of fun just sitting on it and scooting around.

Scrumptious Shrimp

Monica is like her Dad – loves shrimp – so I fixed up a big platter of fried shrimp for the two of them. David loves my fried shrimp – and I think I can say Monica seemed to enjoy them as well.

She was interested in how I kept the hot oil from frothing while the shrimp were frying and why my breading didn’t fall off – so just in case any of you out there may be having trouble with breading and frying , I’ll give you my recipe and tips. The measurements I’ve given are for frying 12-18 large shrimp.

1.  Clean the shrimp (remove shells and de-vein)… you can leave the tails on if you like (more work), but I find the shrimp cook just as well without the tail and they are so much easier to eat.

2.  Slit the back of the cleaned shrimp all the way through; beginning at about the middle of the shrimp [Fig 1] – it will look like a Y when laid flat once you’re finished [Fig 2]. The cutting is easily done if you begin the cut on the back where the vein was removed.

3.  Place prepared shrimp in the refrigerator (covered) until you’re ready to fry

You’ll need three (3) bowls to prepare wet dip and breading for frying . . .

1.  In a small-medium sized bowl place about 1/2 cup regular flour

2.  In a second bowl place 2 egg whites (no yolks allowed) and 1-2 tablespoons of water; whisk together.

Tip:   The egg yolk is what makes the oil froth during frying shrimp or anything else.

3.  In a large bowl place approximately 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal, 1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs, 1/3 cup Zatarin’s Fish Fry (mix it all together). The portions can be adjusted. If you like less crunch, use less Panko. If you like a little more spicy flavor, increase the Zatarin’s Fish Fry, etc..

Now you’re ready to start cooking! You can use a deep frier if you have one following manufacturer’s recommended temperature for frying shrimp, but I just use a heavy-bottomed sauce pan – medium-size . . .  

4.  Fill saucepan or fryer with corn oil deep enough so that the shrimp will be completely submerged -   (I NEVER use canola)  – and place over medium-high until heated. You want the oil hot enough to sizzle when the shrimp are dropped in, but you don’t want it so hot they cook too quickly.

Tip: You can test to see if the oil is ready by sprinkling a small amount of the coating mixture into the oil. If the bits ‘sizzle’ when they hit the oil, the temperature is right. If they don’t, let the oil continue to heat.

5.  Have a plate handy with paper towels to drain any excess oil  from the shrimp as well as a good slotted spoon or spatula for removing the shrimp from the oil.

To bread the shrimp . . .

1. Take the raw shrimp (blot them with a paper towel if they were in water, you want them pretty dry when they go into the flour)  and dredge in the flour – shake off excess.
2. Next put the shrimp into the egg white-water mixture. Use a fork for turning and make sure the whole shrimp is wet.
3. Put the ‘wet’ shrimp into the breading mixture, making sure the whole shrimp is completely covered. You may need to separate the sections where you made the cut if they are stuck together.
4. Gently drop the breaded shrimp into the hot oil
5. Cook until shrimp float and are a nice golden color (Depending on size this can take anywhere from 2-4 minutes.)

Tip: Do not over cook shrimp – they will turn out tough.

I can usually cook 5-6 shrimp at a time and use the time while they’re cooking to get the next batch ready to fry.

These are really good and IF you have any leftovers they make a wonderful po-boy sandwich.

Update on the gate – still working on it.   Hope to have it finished this weekend … weather permitting.  And, for those that either follow or have just recently become aware of the up turn in the market values for silver and gold – check  Gold Coins – Silver Bullion   and find out why silver will continue to go up in value…  and why you may want to invest.

Salsa Chicken – made with taco seasoning, chunky salsa and peach preserves.  Of course, if you’re watching sugars – use sugar free preserves.  Get recipe here.

Bourbon Chicken – this is really good with wild rice.  And while the recipe calls for dried spices – use fresh ones  for a stronger, better flavor.  Get recipe here.

That being said thought I share some of the low-fat recipes we’ve been enjoying.

Pork Tender Loin with Italian Herbs

• Pork tender loin sliced into single serving portions (about 1″ thick)
• Olive Oil
• Garlic power
• Onion Powder
• Italian Seasoning
• Thyme
• Salt
• Pepper

1. In a heavy skillet, heat enough olive oil to very thinly cover the bottom.
2.  Place the tenderloin slices into the pre-heated skillet and then sprinkle them with the spices. You can pretty much season to taste – no set amount or spice . . . and, if you don’t like something …. like garlic – don’t use it.
3. Allow the portions to brown and then turn over.
4. Continue cooking until browned on other side; they’re ready to serve or refrigerate for later.

Fettuccine Alfredo – low fat

A really tasty side dish for the pork tenderloin above is Fettuccine Alfredo – low fat.  This is one of my favorite recipes from the Healthy Homestyle Cookbook  … available from Amazon for under $10.00.   This recipe cuts the calories per serving by about 50% and cuts the fat content from 44g (traditional) to 13g (healthy style).

And, if you’re watching your cholesterol, an original recipe would typically have around 139mg of cholesterol,  while this recipe only has 35mg. Best part, it tastes just as good as the ‘richer ingredient’ version.

You’ll need:

• 12 Ounces fettuccine
• 1 Cup evaporated skim milk
• 1/2 Cup half-and-half
• 2 Tablespoons butter (cut these into small pieces)
• 1-1/2 Cups grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons snipped fresh chives (green onions work well if you don’t have chives)

1. Cook pasta according to directions.
2. In the meantime, in a medium sized saucepan heat the milk, half-and-half and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted and the liquid is hot (not boiling).
3. Gradually stir in 1-1/4 cups of the Parmesan cheese. Continue to cook (and continue stirring) until the cheese has melted.
4. To this mixture add the cooked and drained pasta. Toss until well coated.
5. Serve by sprinkling some of the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top along with some chives to garnish. (Serves 6)

Leftovers

If you have any leftovers, both of these can be used for other meals. I like to use the leftover meat sliced and stir-fried with broccoli, onions and a little soy sauce. It’s extra good if you have a packet of  Chinese stir-fry seasoning to add in – just adds a little more flavor.

The Fettuccini noodles are really good re-heated and served with shrimp that have been sauteed in butter and garlic.

If you like more ‘sauce’ with your shrimp, give this a try. 

Once you’ve cooked the shrimp,  remove them to plate and to the same pan with the garlic/butter, add a little chicken broth (about 1/2 cup)  along with enough corn starch (1-2 teaspoons) to get the thickness you like.   Cook this sauce over medium-low heat, stirring continuously until thickened. 

You can adjust the sauce recipe to make more sauce if you like, but  be careful – if you add in too much chicken broth and corn starch, you’ll loose that nice buttery-garlic flavor. 

This recipe also works well with sliced chicken breast if you don’t like shrimp.

Update. . . . After a week of light scattered rain showers and some un-cooperative equipment, they got the hay baled. Got a good cut this time – and thought you’d like to see how big the rolls are.

And, don’t forget you can calculate the value of your gold jewelry before you sell it using the free online tools at Gold Coins-Silver Bullion.   Don’t do like a lady we heard about and take your jewelry to the pawn shop and get $7.00 for your 14K gold ring!!  That’s criminal.

For example, we enjoy eating the Hillshire Farms Deli-slice meats. They come in a nifty little container that looks just like some of the ones you’d buy at the store for a couple of bucks or so. I’ve found unlimited uses for these little jewels – as has David.   There great for freezing, storing left-overs, stashing craft supplies, holding nails and screws, and just about anything else. They stack really well and the clear bottom lets me see whats in side.

This weekend David laid piping for well water to the other side of the yard while I weeded and trimmed around the flower beds. The beds in the back are edged with borders David made out of the tops of boards.

When we were building the deck we had a stack of wood cuts about 6-8 inches long that were too good to throw out – but what do you do with them????

David came up with the idea of ‘dog earring’ one end and then stapling heavy plastic line on the back so as to hold about 5 or 6 of them together in a section. He then stained them with a Cape Cod Gray color to help preserve them. Once they had dried, I could use them for a flower bed border.   The line kept them from falling over and the stain gave them a quaint, country look.

One of my favorite things to recycle is food – if you can call it that. I like to take the little portions that are leftover and make something new out of them. The Penne Pasta Casserole is a favorite make from leftover spaghetti sauce; another is to take left over chicken and dumplin’s (sans dumplings) and add shrimp, a little white wine, couple of chopped garlic cloves and serve over fettuccine. Really good.

One meal where we never have any leftovers is Orange Chicken. It’s a quick dish to make and if you have company it makes a nice colorful presentation.

Orange Chicken Ingredients

• 1 large chicken breast cut in strips
• 2 tablespoons of butter (use the real stuff)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup water*
• 1 teaspoon chicken bullion base*
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 green onion chopped

* Water and chicken bullion base can be replaced with canned chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a large skillet place the olive oil and butter. When the butter is melted put in the chicken strips and cook over medium heat until lightly browned.
2. Remove chicken to a plate. Pour the water into the buttery-oil and add in the bullion base (or broth). Add in the corn starch and use a whisk to stir. (Using a whisk will eliminate any lumps.)
3. Add in the orange marmalade and stir until well mixed and lightly boiling.
4. (Taste the sauce, if you want it sweeter add in a little more orange marmalade)
5. Add chicken to the sauce.
6. Reduce the heat and continue to cook for about another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Serve with a side dish of wild rice mix and a green vegetable. Sprinkle the chopped green onions over the chicken before serving. Enjoy. (This recipe serves 2-3)