Category Archives: Food

Full to the Brim

Our kids from the ‘Coast’ arrived this past Thursday and Friday for a weekend of celebrations. The title of this post is accurate and be forewarned that this is a loaded post, full of photos. These days I don’t put together photo albums anymore. I use my blog as my photo album. This is a special birthday album.

On Friday we worked on potato and beef filled piroshky using Jamie’s sour dough, delicious! Our Grands have a presentation coming up at their Homeschool Co-op on Russia and these goodies will be part of the International pot-luck. A labor of love.

We gathered on the mountain on Saturday morning to create a heart filled atmosphere for Addy’s 7th birthday celebration. She chose the theme of hearts.

Addy’s mommy baked and decorated the three tiered heart cake which was so good!

Addy’s daddy made these heart shaped macarons, delicious!

Chillin with uncle until the festivities begin.

Addy loves her Aunties!

 

Auntie Lolo and Uncle Joshie

Auntie Katie and Uncle Andrew

Granny

Granny Great

Four generations!

Great Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda

Lifetime friends

Baba and Gramps

Mommy, Daddy, Addy and JJ.

Gramps prayed over our meal and said a special prayer for the birthday girl.

Hooray for presents!

 

She received wonderful presents and was so excited when her special wish for a pair of roller skates came true!

Auntie Katie and Uncle Andrew were in on the surprise present from Addy’s mommy and daddy and bought her all the safety pads for her wrists elbows and knees!

Time for Cake!

 

Let the games begin. We had a quiz on Addy’s 10 favorites. Afterwards we had to create some critters with our eyes closed.

Addy got to choose the winners.

I’m sure by now I’ve lost several of you dear readers out there, but there is more! When all the guests departed we drove back to our country bungalow to chill a bit before all the family arrived at our place to make dinner and dessert to celebrate me. We had to take advantage of all of us being together.

The kids prepared a wonderful stir fry with chicken and veggies with a sauce from scratch. I sat in my recliner and listened and enjoyed the aromas coming from the kitchen. Strawberries were prepped for Strawberry Shortcake dessert. Happy Birthday to me! I received lovely gifts, too. My favorite gift is being together.

Our weekend was not over yet. We had one more surprise in store for us at our church service on Sunday.

Addy had been practicing a piece on the piano to play at church on this Sunday. Our church has a place for special numbers from the congregation from time to time.

Addy was announced and went up to the Baby Grand and played the piece she had prepared, O How I Love Jesus. She is so brave and confident and played sweetly in front of 300+. It brought tears to my eyes.

A perfect song to play on Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. It is all about Jesus and His love and sacrifice for us!

The sermon on this Sunday was a continuation of our series in Colossians. From Colossians 3:18-21 we heard about Home~Where we live like Jesus. Christ changes the home and how we live in it.

Katie and Andrew had to hit the road for home right from church. The rest of us enjoyed another meal on the mountain before Josh and Laura headed back home. Greg and I headed home to put our feet up. Our local kids had one more party to go to for Great Uncle Scott. Full to the brim is what this weekend was. I’ll save the Elk herd we saw on the way home for another day and post. I will post the words from the hymn Addy played a stanza from here for the sake of context.

O How I Love Jesus

There is a name I love to hear,
I love to speak its worth;
It sounds like mu­sic in mine ear,
The sweet­est name on earth.

Refrain

O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
Because He first loved me!

It tells me of a Sav­ior’s love,
Who died to set me free;
It tells me of His pre­cious blood,
The sin­ner’s per­fect plea.

Refrain

It tells me of a Fa­ther’s smile
Beaming up­on His child;
It cheers me through this lit­tle while,
Through de­sert, waste, and wild.

Refrain

It tells me what my Fa­ther hath
In store for ev­ery day,
And though I tread a dark­some path,
Yields sun­shine all the way.

Refrain

It tells of One whose lov­ing heart
Can feel my deep­est woe;
Who in my sor­row bears a part,
That none can bear be­low.

Refrain

It bids my tremb­ling heart re­joice;
It dries each ris­ing tear;
It tells me, in a still small voice,
To trust and ne­ver fear.

Refrain

Jesus, the name I love so well,
The name I love to hear!
No saint on earth its worth can tell,
No heart con­ceive how dear.

Refrain

This name shall shed its frag­rance still
Along this thor­ny road,
Shall sweet­ly smooth the rug­ged hill
That leads me up to God.

Refrain

And there, with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sor­row free,
I’ll sing the new eter­nal song
Of Je­sus’ love to me.

Refrain

God bless you with knowing and believing in what Jesus has done for you as we begin Holy Week 2024!

 

Our Time in Northern Idaho

Most of our time in our neighboring state was spent shopping and eating. We heard about Le Peep from my sister and her hubby. We decided to try it for breakfast on Tuesday. The food and staff were great. Greg had the Stuffed Poblano and I had their Eggs Bene special made with corned beef.

We walked along the boardwalk next to the restaurant and enjoyed the clear views and sunshine. It was early and still on the cool side.

Fortified from our breakfast we tackled several thrift stores, the Chef’s Cash and Carry, At Home, Tractor Supply and Costco. Idaho gasoline is fifty cents less a gallon than Washington.  We go to the cash and carry regularly for supplies for our church kitchen. Sales tax is less in Idaho, too, so we took advantage of that for some of our regular purchases.

I did not take any photos at our early dinner at the Blue Bird in Uptown Coeur d’Alene. We both enjoyed the Halibut and Chips (French fries, Hoagies) with the in house tartar sauce and zesty ketchup. One more stop before we called it a night at Seasons where we split a slice of Huckleberry Cheesecake. Back to the hotel for a relaxing evening.

Before we packed up the car (which wasn’t an easy task), we had breakfast again at Le Peep. I had the stuffed french toast and Greg had a Mexican Skillet. Both dishes were delicious! After checking out of the hotel we started our trek back home with stops in Post Falls, Spokane and Deer Park.

Our stop in Post Falls happened to be right next store to another Tea Room I was not aware of and it really had all the tea vibes. It is called La Tea Da. It will be a treat to make some plans to return for tea.

On Thursday at our last session of Winter Bible Study I was informed of another Tea Room in Spokane. This one would be the closest for us to travel to so there might be a tea adventures in the near future at Brambleberry Cottage .

Today, Friday, is a baking day here at our country bungalow with our daughter-in-laws. Tomorrow is Addy’s birthday party. Katie and Andrew are traveling over today. I am and will be very busy with all our kids through the weekend.

Enjoy the weekend and I’ll catch early next week.

Tea in Coeur d’Alene

We are having a little getaway to our neighboring state of Idaho. We traveled on Monday morning and our first stop was at the Inland Café & Tea in Coeur d’Alene.

 

I enjoyed the High Tea. The scone was so fresh and warm and delicious.

My favorites of the little sandwich bites were the chicken salad and ham with pepper jelly.

I was able to choose my teacup from all of these and chose one with the daffodils.

Greg chose a hot sandwich for lunch. A turkey brie sandwich with a cup of the soup of the day.

We enjoyed and would recommend this spot in Coeur d’Alene for their fresh and good tasting food.

We left the cafe and shopped at a few spots before we checked into our hotel. After we checked in we tried Happy Hour at Bardenay Restaurant and Distillery close to our hotel. It was good and we enjoyed conversation with a couple who moved to Idaho from Alaska fourteen years ago.

Today we hope to walk along the Centennial Trail, shop, and enjoy two more new to us restaurants for lunch and dinner.

Grateful to God for all the abundance that we enjoy with peace and joy.

Simple Strawberry Sauce

 

This simple sauce would be a nice topping for shortcake or you could try it on your Blintzes or Easter Paska.

Simple Strawberry Topping

1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pint strawberries stemmed and halved

Combine sugar, vanilla and 2/3 of the strawberries in a saucepan. Over medium high heat cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, approx. 5 minutes. Remover from heat.

Smooth out sauce with a whisk, immersion blender, or standing blender. Stir remaining 1/3 strawberries into sauce.

Serve as a topping over ice cream, angel food cake, shortcake, waffles, etc. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Note: You can throw in some fresh blueberries, too, with the remaining strawberries.

 

Tri-Tip Rub

When we lived in Southern California we experienced real good barbecued tri-tip roast. Tri-tip is a triangle-shaped piece of beef from the bottom sirloin. It’s also called a “Santa Maria steak” because Santa Maria, California is where it first became popular. You can barbecue it, smoke it, or roast it in the oven. What I’m sharing with you today is a good rub to prepare this cut of meat for whatever cooking method you choose. This rub recipe is enough for a two pound roast.

Tri-Tip Rub

  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon sage
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon herbs de provence or fines herbs (optional)

Mix all ingredients well and rub onto roast lightly coated with olive oil. Wrap the rubbed roast with saran wrap and let marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook unwrap roast. We let it sit at room temperature for an hour before we cook it.
For the grill we place it in the middle of a 3 burner grill with only the outer burners on and cook it to an internal temperature of approx 145 degrees for a medium roast. We place it fat side down for a few minutes and then turned it over to cook it to completion.
If you cook it in the oven it’s good to have the roast elevated slightly and not sitting directly on the bottom of the pan. If you don’t have an appropriate accessory to elevate it off the pan you can use thick cut slices of onion. In the oven cook it fat side up at 350 degrees until it reaches the internal temp for the doneness your family prefers. We enjoy it at approx 140-145 for medium. Slice the meat across the grain and serve.

 

This is my favorite way to eat Santa Maria Tri-Tip.

Teriyaki Glazed Skillet Chicken

This is a simple tasty chicken dish made in the skillet. I was inspired to try it after seeing Bev’s tip on storing fresh ginger.

Teriyaki-Lemon Glazed Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 3 teaspoons garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, micro-planed
  • 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts thin cut

Method:

  1. In large skillet combine lemon juice, soy sauce, white and brown sugar, water, garlic and ginger.
  2. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. 2-4 minutes.
  3. Add the chicken and cook 15 to 20 minutes or till thoroughly cooked turning after 10 minutes.
  4. Optional: Remove chicken and cook down glaze till it thickens somewhat and drizzle over the chicken before serving.

Serve with rice and vegetables of your choice.
Serves 4

If you purchase whole chicken breasts instead of thin cut just halve the breasts lengthwise to make them thinner.

Pasta Carbonara

This is a pasta dish based on eggs, bacon or ham, and cheese.

Pasta Carbonara
Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 pound bacon or Pancetta, cut up into bite size pieces
  • 1/2 cup diced red onion
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup thawed frozen peas (optional)
  • 1/4 cup snipped parsley
  • 1 pound pasta of your choice
  • Pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Let eggs and butter stand at room temperature for 2 hours.
  2. Heat an ovenproof casserole dish (approx. 9 x 13) in a 300 degree oven.
  3. In a skillet, cook bacon or pancetta for a few minutes and then add red onion and continue cooking until red onion is soft, add garlic and heat for an additional minute.
  4. Remove this mixture and drain on paper toweling.
  5. Meanwhile, beat together eggs, salt, and cream just until combined.
  6. Add pasta to a large amount of boiling salted water.
  7. Cook 10 to 12 minutes or until tender; drain well.
  8. Turn hot pasta into the heated serving dish; toss pasta with butter.
  9. Pour egg mixture over and toss until pasta is well coated.
  10. Add bacon, onion, cheese, peas and parsley; toss to mix.
  11. Season to taste with pepper.
  12. The heat of the pasta and the casserole dish cooks the egg mixture…

Oops, on my Wednesday Hodgepodge I said I’d be sharing the Skillet Chicken today but that was scheduled for next Saturday. 

A Puzzling Hodgepodge

Happy last day of January everyone. Here are the Hodgepodge questions we pondered by Joyce From This Side of the Pond this week.

1. January 29th is National Puzzle Day. Do you enjoy puzzles? What kind (crossword, jigsaw, sudoku, etc)?  How often do you work a puzzle? 

I am a jigsaw puzzle fan and I will work on them when the season is right and the time is right. While waiting for each of our grandchildren to be born we worked on a jigsaw puzzle in the hospital delivery waiting room to pass the hours away. I’ve completed two puzzles this month and am now just starting this one.

I have not gotten into sudoku or crossword puzzles. The photo at the top of this post are some of the jigsaw puzzles completed in the past year.

2. Something you currently find ‘puzzling’? 

I’m in the throws of troubling and puzzling and am wrestling with my thoughts and feelings on this issue. It’s nothing to do with my family or marriage which is a blessing but it has captured a lot of my attention. I’ll be praying and watching and waiting on how it progresses.

3. What’s your go-to dish to take to someone who needs a meal (new baby, bereavement, etc)? 

The go to was chicken thighs baked with Italian dressing and served with rice and whole green beans, not canned beans. Some of the ladies in our church are providing meals for someone who is undergoing aggressive treatment for breast cancer and who is too wiped out to think about cooking. I had to come up with more than my standard go to so I’m looking forward to reading what fellow Hodgepodgers share to help me come up with something new.

The photo above is a Teriyaki Glazed Skillet Chicken that I will make for the next meal for our friend. My recipe will post on Saturday.

4. Do you watch any HGTV and/or The Food Network? If so, what’s your favorite program there? 

I watched more in the past but not so much anymore. In the past we enjoyed, The Kitchen on Saturday mornings. We thoroughly enjoyed all the Fixer Upper shows. When the new season of shows come on we’ll watch them. I’ve enjoyed the Food Truck challenges in the past. Flea Market Flip is another show I’ll watch once in a while if I’m sick and need to make the hours pass quicker in my head.

5.  Wrap up your January in five words, with a five word phrase, or with a five word sentence. 

I have two…

Celebrate Three birthdays and more.

Snow, Fog, rain, minus sunshine. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

The top view of this collage has been the norm around our parts for many days in a row. We are hoping to see more of that bottom view soon!

See you soon, Hodgepodgers.

Easy Noodle Bake

From time to time we are asked for recipes for easy meals for busy moms with young children. This recipe will fit the bill. This recipe is enough to serve two adults and one or two younger children. It can be doubled to feed more.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb. ground beef
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1-1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles (I used medium)
  • 1 cup frozen vegetables of your choice (I used chopped broccoli)
  • 10 oz. can of cream of mushroom soup
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup shredded colby/jack cheese

Method:

  1. Saute onion with a little olive oil until translucent.
  2. Add ground beef and cook thoroughly, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, drain excess fat, set aside.
  3. Spread uncooked noodles evenly in bottom of prepared baking dish.
  4. Top with cooked beef and the vegetables.
  5. Whisk soup, milk and water together.
  6. Pour over vegetables.
  7. Top with cheese.
  8. Cover dish with foil sealing well.
  9. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
  10. Serve hot with a side salad if desired.

Ellen’s Extra Tip:
Why not cook up a larger portion of ground beef when preparing this easy meal since ground beef usually sells for less in larger packages. Use a whole onion and cook up a three or more pound package of ground beef and save equal portions in freezer ziploc bags for future use. You could store one package in the refrigerator and make a nice taco salad another night of the week. Freeze the other portions for easy retrieval for a quick meal like hamburger soup or chili.

Sirloin Soup

This soup is rich and delicious and because it calls for Sirloin steak the meat is very tender.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 large leek, rinsed well and finely chopped
  • 2 carrots chopped
  • 1 pound sirloin steak, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper depending on your heat tolerance
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 quart beef stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Method:

  1. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes.
  3. Add the leek and carrot and cook until soft, stirring frequently.
  4. Add the beef, salt, pepper and spices.
  5. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
  6. Make a slurry with the flour and 2 tablespoons water.
  7. Add to the pot and stirring for a minute.
  8. Add the stock and bay leaf, stir well, and bring to a boil.
  9. Lower the heat and simmer partially covered for 1 to 1-1/2 hours stirring occasionally.
  10. Remove the bay leaf, add the parsley, stir well.
  11. Serve with good crusty bread.

This recipe makes about 4 servings.