Blood Orange Italian Soda

I had never had a blood orange before so I decided that I would try them and also try making Blood Orange Italian Soda. I found this recipe for the soda and went out and bought some blood oranges. Well they sat for a couple days because I became really busy with work and home stuff. So one day my husband said lets make some! So while I did the dishes he made the soda.

 First cut the oranges in half and juice them.. (we also strained the pulp to maximize the juice amount)

 We used a strainer...

and a homemade paper towel strainer. You don't have to do this, but if you want to minimize the amount of pulp in your soda you should at least use a strainer.

Next, make the simple syrup. I stirred until the sugar was dissolved and then took the pot of the burner.

Once that is done you can combine all ingredients and chill. Then taste and adjust the flavors as needed.

Ingredients:

9 blood oranges medium to large
1 c simple syrup (1c water & 1c sugar)
1 bottle of Italian mineral water (about 1L)

That's all you need. It is sooo good!

Shrimp Parmesan

My husband and I have been eating a lot of chicken. David doesn't mind at all. Me on the other hand, I get bored with it and get bored with trying to make it exciting for me. One of David's favorite meals is Chicken Parmesan so I decided to change the meat and make it the same way. Man, that was a great choice!!!

The shrimp I bought were the large shrimp. They were frozen, uncooked with tails. So the first thing I did was to thaw them out and then take the tails off. Next thing to do is dry them. I put a paper towel on a plate, put the shrimp on the towel and then put another paper towel on top of them and press it dry.

They don't have to have every last bit of water off them but they need to be dry enough so the butter will stick to them.

Next, prepare your butter and your bread crumbs.

The best bread crumbs to use (my opinion of course)

Take the bread crumbs and the cheese and combine in a bowl. Also make sure you have your cookie sheet ready. I lined mine with aluminum foil for easy clean up.

 Put the shrimp in the butter...

And then into the bread crumb mixture...

then onto your pan.
Once you have a full pan put it into the oven at 450 for 5-6 minutes. Not much longer or the shrimp will become rubbery.

Once they are done you can put them on top of pasta or eat with veggies. You can even put a red sauce with them and enjoy.
It was late and the hubs was hungry so we just ate with some pasta and of course more parmesan!

Ingredients:
Shrimp 16 oz large shrimp
1/2 c Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs
1/2 c Parmesan Chesse
1/2 c Butter melted

Enjoy!

How to Prepare Peaches and Peach Sangria

I know peaches aren't really in season right now but I have had these photos and decided to post them!

First thing I suggest is to buy seconds. Don't buy the pretty peaches. Look for seconds at your farmers market. Seconds are the peaches that have a little bruising or blemishes. They are the best for this recipe. The first thing you want to do is to make sure that you go through your box or lot of peaches that you bought. Any peaches that have mold or spots just cut it off and use what's left of the peaches.

Then Score the peaches so they are much easier to peel. You don't need to peel the peaches if you cut them.

We made X's on the ends.

Place the peaches in boiled water for 30 seconds and then into an ice bath.

Peel the peaches and then set them aside and do a bunch at a time to make the process go faster.

Then slice them....

Find your favorite cobbler recipe. We haven't found a good recipe. Any suggestions would be great!! 

To make the sangria:
Take your favorite sangria or wine and add the peaches. Let soak for a few hours and let cool. Enjoy!

Learning Lesson from Lentils

My husband liked the Lentil Soup so much that he asked me to make another batch. But this time he wanted me to use the ham bone that we had. So I tried it. Made the exact same recipe but added the ham bone in first and the liquid and then the lentils and a ton of water because I also made a double batch. Well I should have only made one batch of this because the ham that we bought had a sweet glaze on it and that went into the soup and did not make it taste like lentil soup at all. Here are the photos anyway.

I only added water to the soup because I really wanted to taste the flavor of the ham. Well I ended up adding 6 total bouillon cubes to the soup to reduce the sweetness. 

I added the Lentils and the water and let that cook for about 30 mins and then added the spices and let that cook until the meat falls off the bone. About 1-1.5 hours. Season to taste.

Advice: Don't use a sweet ham for soups.

Chef John's Bison Balls and Rice

I have been wanting to make something with the bison meat I have in my freezer for a while but not sure what to make. I was browsing foodwishes.com and thought I would try his version of bison. This was a really good meal with rice. I also poured the sauce over the rice and it was so good. The spice was great with the orange marmalade. Thank You Chef John!

I have more photos but Chef John's video is way better than my photos. Enjoy!

Razzleberry Pie!

My favorite pie of all time after Pumpkin Pie is... you guessed it.... Razzleberry Pie. I was feeling "healthy" a couple weeks ago and so I bought some blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. Well I only ate a few and they sat in my fridge. The last time I did this the berries went bad. I wasn't going to let that happen this time so.. I found a recipe for my favorite pie and made it. It was so much better than the Mrs. Smith's brand at the store. I was so happy!

I got the recipe from here. I modified it a little and didn't use strawberries because I didn't have any fresh ones on hand.

They tell you to put slits in the pie crust for the steam to escape and I always see people do cute things with theirs so I felt like being creative and did a teacup shape on mine. In the picture it is sideways. This pie was so good my husband even liked it!

Chunky Beef Stew

I made Beef Stew tonight. I didn't really know how to make it but I knew I didn't want to use a recipe. So I "winged it"! I called my mom about what type of meat to use and she also recommended the McCormick Beef Stew spice packet.

I really didn't want to use this seasoning but it was already 3:30 and I was irritated because the beef I bought had gone bad so I had to go out and get some more. Next time I will be using my own spices and seasonings. I did add some other things to this stew but the base was this spice packet.

The first thing you want to do is put about 1tbs of butter into your pot and chop your onions. Don't turn the pot on yet but just have it in there waiting. That way the butter is on the bottom and then your onions are on top. Sweat the onions while cutting the beef.  Homemade butter post coming soon!

Chopped onions with Homemade butter

 Next take the stew meat and chop it in half to get more meat into your stew.

 Add the beef to the onions and saute until most of the sides are brown and the center is just about cooked through.

 Wash and chop your potatoes, celery, and carrots. Remember not to cut the veggies too thin because they will soften and reduce.

 Add all ingredients to the pot. Add the 3c water and the seasoning packet. (I did not follow the directions on the packet because I wanted this to be my beef stew not McCormick's)

 After adding the water and the seasoning packet, I added my favorite seasoning.... BAY LEAVES! 3-4 will suffice. I also added basil, oregano, and some garlic powder because I somehow forgot to add minced garlic.  Cover and bring to a boil on med high heat and then reduce to low and allow to simmer. If you want a thicker sauce add the flour as suggested on the seasoning packet at this stage.
Let simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour on low-med heat.

Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Lentil Soup

Sorry that I haven't blogged in a couple days I've been busy with family.
I made Lentil soup today. This soup is really good! Enjoy!

1 lb bag of lentils

First take your bag of lentils and sift through them to check for any rocks or odd colored lentils.

Sifting the beans

Next add the bouillon cubes and the water and cover. Let boil for a few minutes and then check. You may need to add more water to the pot.

This was before I let it boil with only 2c water. There was not enough water. Start with 3c water and then adjust according to your taste.

Add the celery (optional) and the onion and garlic once you let it boil for a little while.

Add the bay leaves. I use 4-5. They are my favorite seasoning. Let it boil until most of the water is soaked up and the beans are soft. about 30-45 mins.

My delicious lentil soup. It reduced a lot from the beginning. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper if necessary. Serve on pasta with 1 tbsp butter and 1 oz parmesan cheese.
This soup is so good on a cold night.

Ingredients:

1lb Lentils
3 chicken bouillon cubes
3c water (or more as needed)
4-5 Bayleaves
1tbs basil
1tbs oregano
1tbs garlic powder
1tbs onion powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 stalk celery chopped (optional)
1 onion diced
salt and pepper to taste