Planned First Brisket & A Pork Butt On The Electric Smoker & Bouquets

Cindy walked around the yard and picked some flowers to make a couple of bouquets to welcome Bev home from her two-week trip.  Pretty neat that she can do this from our yard.

The Great Spam vs. Treet Taste Test & Bev BD

I’ve posted before that my mom bought Armor’s Treet rather Hormel’s Spam to feed us kids and I have no idea why other than it may have been a few cents cheaper.  Not long after that post early last year, I bought a can of each for a taste test and I finally got around to doing it after discovering the two cans while organizing the pantry - you know I love taste tests.

Asparagus Season – I Love It – Steamed, Omelet, Frittata

I love it when our little asparagus patch begins producing and it seemed to be a little earlier this year thanks to the warm spring.  Cindy and I had it steamed and tossed in butter and parmesan as a side to some tuna steaks.

Red Snapper Livornese And Sauteed Asparagus

While doing a deep freezer dive, I found a package of red snapper that we had frozen from our 2017 trip to Joe Patti’s in Pensacola, FL and I’m confident most people would just toss it.  However, I’m bad not to throw away items past their expiration dates, especially canned and dried items, without testing them.  So, I thawed the fish in the fridge and when I opened the plastic bag, I was met with a fresh fish smell (so almost no smell).  Upon removal, I found the flesh to be firm and without freezer burn so I cut off some thin belly meat and gave it a quick nuke for a taste test.  It tasted just like it should have and it didn’t make me sick so on the supper menu it went.

Meat Lovers Pizza Gnocchi & RV

When I saw this recipe for Meat Lovers Pizza Gnocchi back in January on Kevin’s “Closet Cooking” blog, I knew it had to be tried.  The only problem was that Bev doesn’t care for gnocchi (the store bought version at least) so while she was in the Caribbean, it seemed like the perfect meal for our Friday card night.  Here is Kevin’s description of it – “Soft and pillowy gnocchi done meat lover’s pizza style with pizza sauce, pepperoni, bacon, and beef all smothered in plenty of melted cheese!”  You can see Kevin's original recipe and pics by clicking on the above link.

Ham and Manchego Sandwich & Spring Is Here

Chef Lea An posted this recipe for Ham and Manchego Sandwich on her “Cooking On The Ranch” blog some time ago and I’ve been saving it for the right time and since Bev has gone off to Sint Maarten for a couple of weeks and I’m cooking for one this was a simple, easy meal and I had most of the ingredients.  The recipe below makes two sandwiches so I invited Cindy to join me.

This is a quote from Lea Ann’s blog – “The ingredients and the flavors they create in this sandwich are made for each other. Salty ham, sweet and creamy cheese, smoky roasted bell peppers and savory caramelized onion. The pumpernickel bread adds just enough pizzaz to bring it all together.”  How could you not try this after seeing her pic.

Apple And Bacon Stuffed Pork Loin

Bev had purchased a whole pork loin during her recent visit to Sam’s Club and rather than cut any chops, I cut it into four roasts about 7” long and froze three of them.  The fourth, I decided to use as a stuffed pork loin and Tatyana’s recipe for it from her “Tatyana’s Everyday Food” blog looked good especially since I had nearly everything on hand.  I only had a two pound roast so I halved everything to get the recipe below.  You can click on the above link for her original recipe which is must more detailed than my edited version.  My roast didn’t look as perfect as hers.

Marry Me Chicken & Eliza Bike

I’d been saving Jenn’s recipe for Marry Me Chicken waiting for the right time to make it.  We recently made chicken kebabs and after Jaccarding, I cubed the thick part of the breasts for them and saved the thinner pieces for something else and this recipe seemed to be the perfect use for them.  I had 2½ pounds of chicken so I doubled everything to get the recipe below.  You can see the original recipe plus pics by clicking on the above link.

Fish Cakes Ala Martha Stewart, Supper & Breakfast

I generally watch Good Morning America and when Bev gets up we watch the Today Show.  I pay attention to the first hour as they show the news but my attention goes elsewhere when then do make-up, celebrities, clothes, etc.  I usually watch the food segments and happened to look up this day to see Martha Stewart making fish burgers. 

Raspberry, Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops

Beverly came home the other day with a six pack of “gottch-ya” pork chops that she had bought on sale.  You know the ones where they put a couple of nice looking sirloin chops that are covering several ““gottch-ya” chops that you would not otherwise buy.