Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

I am not going to re post this recipe as I followed it pretty exactly from Country Living. However it does need improvement. I doubled the orange food coloring and still did not get a true orange color after the chocolate cream cheese was added back in. My chocolate glaze was also too runny. I checked with Ashley who also made this recipe (and turned me on to it) and she had the same issues but we both agreed the cake part was extremely moist and delicious.

Life Gets in the Way Sometimes

After my miscarriage I threw myself back into this blog and cooking and planning the garden (which I WAY overdid, I will be honest about that-Big Garden-my nemisis). It was the only thing that helped me deal with my grief and sanity.

As the months have gone by, I have thrown myself in so many different directions, joining blog challenges, blog rolls, writing for the examiner, going larger on the garden etc. that I see very little focus and very little accomplishment. I have all these grand ideas and not enough time to execute them.

And I’m growing more exhausted by the day which leaves me less time and energy to work on anything. As you can see from my blog post history this is pretty typical for me at this time of year. Once I take on the outside work of summer (garden, yard, pool) that is where my focus stays and I blog little. I always have the best intentions of blogging garden updates but that never happens. I’m already on phase II of the one garden (ripping out lettuce etc and planting summer crops) and I’ve posted nothing.

Part of this is the fact that my laptop is broke so I’m sharing a computer with DH. It’s a bulky desktop, rather slow with picture downloads and its in the office. The office is DH’s domain now. (used to be mine when I worked from home but now its his since he’s in school and I am back in corporate America). I do not clean it since its his mess and his hateful bird resides in there. Needless to say, its disgusting, dusty and noisy which sends this OCD neat freak into spasms. Plus now the computer is not reading my camera and he hasn’t fixed it. I have little desire to post considering all of that. This situation will be corrected sometime this summer when I budget in the money for computer repairs. (my laptop). Right now pool supplies, garden/yard expenses are top of the list). Until then please be aware that my blog may be rather quiet with the occasional blast of recipes and updates as time permits.
I still have a ton of posts to make (stories in my head, pictures hanging out on my camera, recipes I’ve made). I’m just not sure how it will go over actually posting them. My lunch hour is short so posting daily during that time is not necessarily feasible though I’m definitely going to give it the old college try and definitely keep up with the Menu Monday as that keeps me experimenting and my budget on track.

I will be diligent in my efforts but I didn’t want to disappear for days/weeks at a time and you not have a heads up, so Stay TUNED!

Definitely in the To Blog File:
Hummingbird Cupcakes
Leftover Pot Pie
Boston Ho Cupcakes
Corny Cole Slaw
Spinach Shells-2 ways
And a whole slew of recipes from this weeks menu.

Shopping Cart Judge

I'm not talking about some new fangled adult version of a Grocery sponsored Soap Box Derby. I'm talking about standing in line and judging people by what's in their carts. I do it. I know people have judged me too. You can see it in their faces.

I've been embarrassed by my purchases before. Ramen noodles, cookies, Lance Crackers, and three cases of Mountain Dew and a carton of Marlboro. You can not get much worse than that (or more redneck). I felt like I needed a big sign that said "This is for my husband who has the metabolism of a Roadrunner on ACME espresso and the taste buds of a 10 year old boy."

My poor husband suffers without a lot of his processed goodies because I'm too embarrassed to buy them. People don't see "woman married to an iron stomach." They see "fat woman who eats and feeds her family like shit." And I don't. So I refuse to buy that kind of stuff. Oh I'll sprinkle one or two items in a cart full of healthy foods, but lets get real, I never have a CART FULL. I shop for my fresh produce, herbs, specialty cheeses and some of my meats at the Farmer's market. I get basic items like spaghetti noodles, canned tomatoes, and condiments at Aldi's. I shop in a regular grocery store for very few things: Hubbies sodas, hot chocolate, frozen veggies, Pet Brand Milk products (fewer hormones but cheaper than organic) and cleaning supplies, so its hard to hide the bad for you things in there.

Here's why I'm concious of being judged on my shopping cart: BECAUSE I DO IT! I stand in line and look at what people are purchasing and I judge them for it. A mom with three screaming kids and cart full of processed box crap, luncheables and Little Debbies and soda. I judge you and side-eye you. I don't think "AW, she's on a budget and buying cheap stuff." No. I think "if you didn't feed your kids that shit, they would be misbehaved and spazzing out all the time." (Horrible I know, and I'll probably have the screaming kid in the grocery store and it won't be because of food. Karma's a bitch).

Single dude with Ramen and Hungryman. I feel sorry for you and want to feed you.

Lady with the well behaved child and a cart full of fruits, veggies and raw meat and bottled water: I commend you and smile.

I just can't stop myself from looking at the shopping cart and what's in it and then judging the imperfections of the adult and/or their children because of it. I think I have watched way too much BBC America with that show "You are what you Eat." Once you become concious of what you put into your body and what that food does to you, you look at the world differently...and everyone's shopping carts.

If you think I'm joking, next time you are standing in line, watch what people are buying and see if you can keep yourself from judging them. I bet you can't, but will you admit it? Never judge a book by its cover and all that crap. My name is Krista, and I'm a shopping cart judge.

Embarrassing Food Explorations

Have you ever had one of those extremely embarrassing moments that in hindsight really wasn't that bad?

I had one of those yesterday. I was tired, I didn't want to go to the grocery store but I did it anyway. I hopped over to Aldi's directly after work with the plan to grab what I could and pop into the ever-hated and dreaded Walmart afterwards. ( I despise Walmart but sometimes its a necessary evil to stay within budget for a few items if they aren't on sale elsewhere).

Aldi's was PACKED. I finally got everything I needed. Stood in line for 15 minutes, unloaded my cart, get to the cash register only to realize, I can't find my debit card. I'm tearing everything out of my purse, which at this point looks like a medicine bag with my emergency inhaler, EPI pen, allergy meds, liquid benedryl, IBProfen etc. I seriously hate meds and only carry these out of necessity but only take the allergy pills on a daily basis. Swearsies.

I look at the cashier desperately with pleading in my eyes and whisper, "do you take checks?" She glares at me and says "Cash or debit ONLY." very loudly. I glance behind me at the long line of crossed arms and scowling stares. Shove everything back into my purse, and squeak out "I'm so sorry, I must have left my debit card in my jeans."

I flee with my head down as people are shaking their heads. I wanted to scream: " I can afford my frozen peas, olive oil and mozzerella people. Haven't you EVER forgotten your debit card before?!" But I didn't. I slunk home. Almost in tears, I called my husband and asked him to search his car for the debit card since I took his vehicle to get gas for the tiller which is the last place I remember having the card.

It wasn't there. So disheartened and embarrassed I changed into pajamas and started cleaning my house. I could NOT remember what pair of pants I had worn to church (which is what I had on when I went to get the gas). I finally remembered and checked the pocket. SUCCESS! It was like a ray of sunlight shining into my closet and a choir of angels broke into song! My dignity was saved. I could buy groceries!

Despite knowing it was more embarrassing then it should have been in reality, I still couldn't muster the energy to change clothes and go back to the stores. So I threw together dinner from the freezer and continued cleaning.

Am I overly dramatic and silly? Probably. You can't tell me that it hasn't happened to you though. What was your most embarrassing food shopping experience? Do people judge what's in your cart and comment? Did you break a jar of pickled peaches in the aisle? Do share.

Twice Baked Potato and Broccoli Casserole

Sometimes the biggest mistakes can turn into new and amazing adventures in life. Tis the same with cooking. Things that don't work out like you planned can often create new and exciting dishes.

I had thawed out a small container of Eagle's Chili for Stephen and planned on making simple broccoli stuffed twice baked potatoes. For some reason even after an hour my potatoes still were not soft. They were cooked but not all the way. So when I tried to scrape out the halves, they broke apart. Frustrated, I threw everything in a casserole dish and rebaked. It actually turned out really well and the leftovers were phenomenal. Thus a new dish was born.

Twice Baked Potato and Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients:
Two cups boiled or steamed broccoli florets
2 large baking potatoes
One small carton of Sour Cream
1 cup mild shredded cheddar
1/2 stick butter
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup Panko or Seasoned Bread crumbs (optional)

Directions:
Bake Potatoes at 350 for one hour (wrapped in tinfoil). Rough Chop cooked potatoes and place in casserole dish. Add the rest of the ingredients and gently stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Deep Fried Mozzerella Balls

Ahh my attempt to make HOMEMADE Fried Mozzerella balls. Was a complete Failure. They only tasted good hot out of the grease but they exploded and so they were a cheese mass of breaded oozing cheese that when cool, held on to the grease!

I'm glad I only breaded and tried about a dozen so I didn't waste all that mozzerella! I think I got TWO that came out like they were supposed to! (Since its a failure I'll show you the pile of greasy cheese to prove it and NO we did not eat it. We ate the two good ones and that was it! LOL)

Fried Mozzerella Balls:

Ingredients:
3 eggs whisked
12 fresh Mozzerella balls (use a melon ball scooper and a fresh round of mozzerella)
Bread crumbs
1 cup of flour
salt and pepper
OIL

Directions:
Dip dried mozzerella in egg, then flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Drop into a preheated Cast Iron Dutch oven with about a 1/2 inch of 300 degree oil for about 45 seconds, or until crispy and golden brown. Drain.

Italianless: Butternut Squash Ravioli

I apparently do not have an Italian Bone in my Body. I know I shouldn't feel bad for messing up a recipe or not getting it right the first time around. If you don't ever mess up in the kitchen, then you aren't cooking enough. Having said that, its a blow to my ego.

Valentine gave me her Grandma Tulio's recipe for Butternut Squash Ravioli. I was so excited. I've never made home made pasta before! It Failed miserably. Between my pathetic Ravioli that leaked all their stuffing out in the water, to the sad attempt to turn into an edible Butternut Dumpling recipe just to see what the flavors were like. Somehow, it just didn't come together in a pleasant palate for me. Maybe I really don't have enough Italian in me. I like SWEET southern Butternut Squash recipes. My heritage is English, Germany and Irish with a little Native American thrown in for good measure. Meats, stews and Cakes...I've got you covered. Pasta, well, we need to work on that.



Sad isn't it?

Epic Failures: Sandra Lee and my Pumpkin Tenders

This is a quote from Anthony Bourdain on Sandra Lee:

"She makes her audience feel good about themselves. You watch her on that show and you think, "I can do that. That's not intimidating." All you have to do is waddle into the kitchen, open a can of crap and spread it on some other crap that you bought at the supermarket. And then you've done something really special. The most terrifying thing I've seen is her making a Kwanzaa cake. Watch that clip and tell me your eyeballs don't burst into flames. It's a war crime on television. You'll scream."

This quote made my day. Thank you Valentine for finding it. For some unexplainable reason, this woman grates on my nerves more than an orange zester in Florida on Thanksgiving. Her booze soaked show is an insult to those who actually LIKE to cook. Opening cans and slapping some ugly pastel frosting in a ziplock bag does not equal COOKING. You think I'm kidding? The proof is in the pudding (aka Youtube).

Having said that, I must admit that the best cooks have failures. Things don't always come together working from scratch. Which is something Sandra Box-A-Lots-LEE will never understand. It's really hard to mess something up when you are dumping it from a box and adding water. Take cooking classes from EASY BAKE OVEN does not qualify you for your own Food Network show (there is a conspiracy here, I'm sure of it. BJ Queen anyone?)Sorry MOM, I know you like her and my rudeness is in no way a reflection of your upbringing. I learned it all on my own. *wink*

I also must admit that even I have failures in the kitchen. GASP. That hurt to admit. LOL My attempt at Pumpkin Cookies did not turn out well. They came out little pumpkin Cake blobs. Nice taste. Terrible texture for a cookie. Lumpy Pancakes would be a better description. They were also resembling Chicken tenders which does not bode well for their aesthetic appeal. Fortunately, the guys at work whom I adore dearly and are always ready to be my guinea pigs, scarfed them down. (I think they were truly afraid to offend me in case I didn't bring more goodies...its okay..I know ya'll are bald faced liars and I love you for it.) They did however get dubbed "Pumpkin Tenders". Sigh. Back to the drawing board. Here is the recipe for those of you brave enough to try altering it to get a better version. Happy Experimenting!

Pumpkin Tenders (okay okay Cookie Blobs if you prefer)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tbs maple syrup
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups self-rising flour (or all purpose flour plus 1tsp baking soda)
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
IN a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in honey, syrup and egg. Stir in pumpkin. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir flour misture into the creamed misture. Add the milk.

Drop dough onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for about 10-12 minutes. Do not overcook because bottom will burn, so watch them closely to get the timing. Cool on sheets for a minute or two then move to cooling racks.