Roast Chicken & Root Vegetables

Got off work and with my weekly printed shopping list and recipes in hand I headed on over to Aldi's. I bought a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, garlic hummus, a cantaloupe, some summer squash and zuccini and a three pack of cheese from Ireland, England and Scotland. None of which was on my shopping list. But with this stuff and my list I only paid $72. and that is for at least 5 dinners. Not bad.

Tonight's dinner was a whole Chicken, baked in a bed of sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and acorn squash. Cooked for 1 hour 15 minutes. The root vegetables we so sweet and good and the chicken nice and juicy. Half the vegetables will be used later in the week and half the chicken will be used another night.

We are back on track. Clean eating, no sugar, no soda, no white stuff, no chocolate, no candy, no chips, no bread. 21 day Challenge ... I want to lose 12 pounds by the end of February. ...

 

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Five Day get away with Hubby

We left early Thursday evening and headed North... Mountains Bound! We drove the Vette so that alone was fun. Stopped in Spartanburg and grabbed a quick bite. Arrived at our Bed & Breakfast, Grandview Lodge, in Waynesville around 9 pm.

I had made reservations for the Thomas Wolfe Room. A beautiful smaller room with a queen bed, fireplace, shower and french doors going out onto the wrap around porch. When we got there we were offered that room or the one across the hall ... The luxury suite The Delannoy, king size bed, bath tub, fireplace and a huge room! Same price take your pick ... Well of course we picked the King Sized Luxury Suite!

Four nights and five days of fun, meeting new people, eating new food, and doing some new things!

We spent a whole day and evening at Biltmore Estate. With an annual pass we saved lots of money on food, and gifts. Also got the second ticket free. Plus we have one more free ticket to use later with MY annual pass. We realized while checking in and starting our self paced tour that we haven't been here in 21 YEARS! To say that some things have changed would be a understatement. ... It was exciting like we had never been. The new resturants and shops added a whole new dimension. We ate lunch at the Stable Cafe. We, meaning I did a wine tasting at the Winery, Hubby people watched and shopped the Winery store. Then he was nice enough to lug around 5 bottles of wine, an opener, a couple glasses and gift for a friend. We dumped everything in the car and headed to Cedric's Tavern for dinner and entertainment. We had an awesome day!

The next morning we headed out for Hot Springs. On the way we found a new road with lots of twisty turnies ... 264 curves in 24 miles. We arrived at the Hot Springs Spa feeling pretty good after that nice ride. We had a hour couples massage. Then grabbed some towels and headed to the hot springs mineral baths. Each tub is emptied, cleaned and refilled for each appointment. We got to tub enclosure number 8 and found that the whole back side is open to view the river and elements. It was fun and we were brave enough to get butt naked out in the open, no one could see us, and soak for an hour. Very relaxing and even more so because we had just had hour long massages.

We left Hot Springs and enjoyed the ride back through all those curves and headed back to the B & B to shower and change. We went down town Waynesville and ate at the Sweet Onion. If you are ever in Waynesville you must stop here and eat. Fantastic. After we walked around and checked out a few shops we headed to Hwy 9 in Black Mountain and the Straightaway Cafe. Great place, quaint, artsy, Fartsy and great craft beer. We ordered our favorite brews, listened to a solo musican and played several hands of Gin. Really nice time.

Sunday morning we slept in a little. Lingered longer at breakfast talking to other guests and our host. Then we headed out for Gatlinburg. We strolled the Village Shops, checked out the art galleries, drank some pretty great Bloody Mary's and ate the Mellow Mushroom while we watched 1/2 the Seattle Green Bay game. Then we headed back to the B & B, making one stop on the way looking for yarn. Didn't find any yarn I wanted but found a pattern for a great sweater and three wool dryer balls. Got back in time to watch the end of the game. Green Bay lost ... So, sad. We watched the game between the Colts & Patriots ... Not much better of an outcome. Lol, I am thinking since no one we wanted won, we shouldn't have to watch the Super Bowl ... Pretty sure that won't fly but I like the thought.

Slept in again Monday morning, and lingered yet again over breakfast chatting and saying our good byes. We packed and headed out. We will return and most likely bring friends next time!

We stopped by the car wash yet again and shined up the vette. Then we headed to the KOA in Swannanoa to pick sites and make reservations for the 4th of July. After we settled that we went to down town Black Mountain and shopped around for a cribbage board. Wow, harder than I thought it would be. We did end up with a tiny little match car sized one. Found another yarn store and found my yarn for my sweater this time! Walked through an antique store, all three floors of it, but couldn't find anything that wanted to come home with us. Then we went to the Dark City Pub and Deli for a great lunch and my last Guiness of the trip. We filled up with gas, took a fast potty break and bought some munchies for the trip home ... Good & Plentys can't go on a road trip without Good & Plentys!

Pulled in our driveway around 7. Brought everything and dumped it on the guest bed. Dug through our stuff for what we needed for the night, put our PJs on and chilled out. What a great weekend. Love my Hubby!

 

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Brown Sugar Carmel Pound Cake

I made this cake for our Capricorn Party. I first seen it on Pinterest. When I went to look for the recipe the first few pins didn't have a follow through site to a recipe. So I finally went on line and just entered the name. I found the same picture and recipe several different places on the Internet. It is simply AWESOME.

 

1 1/2 c unsalted real butter softened

2 c light brown sugar, packed

1 c sugar

5 large eggs

3 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c whole milk

1 bag(s) 8oz bag toffee chips

1 c pecans, in pieces

CARAMEL DRIZZLE

1 can(s) sweetened condensed milk

1 c dark brown sugar, firmly packed

2 Tbsp unsalted real butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp Caramel extract

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 325 spray a 12 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray with flour.

2

Beat butter until creamy. Add sugars beating until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time.

3

In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mix to batter alternately with milk, beat until just combined

4

Stir in toffee bits and chopped pecans. Spoon batter into pan and bake 85 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. To prevent excess browning, cover cake with foil while baking.

5

Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. Spoon Caramel Drizzle over cooled cake.

6

Directions for Caramel Drizzle

7

In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk and brown sugar; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently. Reduce heat, and SIMMER for 8 minutes, whisking frequently.

8

Remove from heat; whisk in butter, vanilla & caramel extract. Let cool for 5 minutes before using.

9

NOTE: Make sure you drizzle the caramel while it’s still HOT. When cooled the caramel does somewhat harden.

NOTE: Fill pan as you would any other cake leaving room for it to rise, you may have some batter left over.

 

I added the caramel extract because it just needed a bit more umph to kick it up a notch. My oven is electric and of an average age, meaning not new but not super old either. It actually took me about an extra half hour or so to firm up the center around the Bundt pan middle hole.

This is a crowd pleaser. Several people asked for the recipe and EVERYONE who tried it loved it. I am going to try and replicate this same recipe and taste with Whole Wheat Pastry Flour so I that the recipe would be clean and healthy.

 

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Chili and Brown Sugar Caramel Pound Cake.

When it comes to homemade chili I am all about semi home made. Really, what is chili, beans, tomatoes, spices and where I am concerned meat. Depends on what part of the country you come from if meat is part of your favorite chili recipe or not.

I made a HUGE pot of chili for the guys to eat while they roasted the hog and got everything ready for our big yearly Capricorn Party. I made the chili the afternoon before they were going to eat it because anything with cooked tomatoes or tomato sauce ALWAYS tastes better the next day. For some reason it adds a level of flavor fresh cooked goods don't have.

So, if you're looking for a great tasting, slightly spicey, fast chili recipe here it is ...

Chili Jere Style

3 - pounds of lean hamburger, cooked.

1 - pack McCormick Tex-Mex Chili Seasoning

1 - pack McCormick Original Chili Seasoning

2 - 15oz cans of Light Kidney Beans, with the liquid

2 - 15oz cans of Dark Kidney Beans, with the liquid

2 - 15oz cans of Black Bean, with the liquid

Stir it all together until completely mixed.

2 - 28oz cans of Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes with Green Chili's

5 - 14oz cans of Hunts Diced Tomatoes with Green Peppers, Celery & Onions

Stir again and bring to a rolling boil while gently stirring.

Turn down heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Cool down and put in fridge until ready to serve (next day or two) reheat and serve.

Makes about 8 quarts. The recipe can be easily cut in half.

http://www.free-online-calculator-use.com/recipe-conversion-calculator.html

Serve with Whole wheat cracker & real butter or shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese, or homemade sweet coarse cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet.

I know I preach clean eating. Tomatoes from a can are still clean eating, the Hunts brand a I use are actually 100% Natural. Hamburger can be organic. The beans I use both ways. If I plan a meal with beans I use dried beans and plan other meals to use up the whole bag. For this recipe and my time frame it was just easier to use canned beans. By not rinsing them I know it adds salt, but I don't add anymore to the recipe. I use either the premade chili mix or I make my own, I have recipes for all kinds of mixes you can buy, but I figured most people would just buy a mix and I wanted it to taste the same so I used a mix this time.

Make up a batch one weekend and you can have a couple dinners through the week with it. Eat is as chili with crackers one night, mix it with your favorite cornbread recipe and bake it one night, and pour it over baked potatoes another night and add the shredded cheese to it.

The Caramel Cake recipe will be in the next post.

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My 2015 Dinner's So Far ...

New Year, Slow Start ... The cooking is coming! Lol

12/31 ... Quality Inn Resort - Clearwater, Florida - Nacho's; a hurried dinner/snack while starting to partake of New Year's Eve adult beverages after a 10 hour drive and the only food in our bellies was a rushed Cracker Barrel breakfast at 9 am somewhere in Georgia. Oh, Don't forget the Starbucks an exit later ... LOL

1/1 ... Crabby Bill's - Clearwater, Florida - Crab & Corn Chowder, Cold Boiled Shrimp, Sweet Potato Fries with BBQ Sauce; a great dinner with great friends. We also had the BEST Bloody Mary's at Jimmy's Iguana Bar for brunch. The Wisconsin Burger was damn good too! But, then, who doesn't LOVE cheese.

1/2 ... Salt Life Food Shack - St. Augustine, Florida - Backyard Beer Can Chicken, Island Style Ribs, Grilled Whole Corn, Tropical Fried Rice & Black Bean Orzo; We stumbled across this neat place while looking for another. So glad we came back and tried it for dinner. Dinner was good, but the ambiance was awesome. We will be back. We ate at IHOP for breakfast in Clearwater then lunched with my Dad and his lady friend in Arcadia before hitting the road for St. Augustine.

 

1/3 ... Little Caesars - Sumter, SC - Sausage Pizza & White Cheddar Popcorn; luckily we had a great day walking around the historical district of St. Augustine and we grabbed a bite at Ann O'Malley's. The Guiness was top notch. The pizza for dinner was about all we could handle after being stuck in traffic for a several hours!

1/4 ... Leftover Irish Stew from Boxing Day. Really tried to kick back and enjoy my last day of winter break. Unpacking and laundry was a must. Hubby roped me into some holiday decoration chores and I was nice and helped with a smile. I might not have cooked dinner, haven't been shopping, but I did make a rustic apple pie from scratch. Yummy. Have to get those apples used up in the crisper from the fall.

1/5 ... China Wing - Beef & Broccoli with Rice. First day back to work. Lots of stuff to finish up months end and year end. After a bad nights sleep and a very early morning I just wasn't feeling cooking. Then I babysat for a hour or so. Hubby came home late and had to leave again to finish some work. So we both decided Chinese sounded good!

I have been sitting here flipping through and sorting recipes. I will remember to throw my food bags in the car, in the morning, so I can shop after work. Something with shrimp sounds good. Something with just a few ingredients. Something healthy. Something FAST and EASY!

 

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