Eliza Comes For Steak And WVU Baseball

We hadn’t seen Eliza and family for a few weeks and I have been wanting to cook some steaks (my needed extra protein) so we invited her to bring her family and come on down for Sunday supper.  Her she is at eight with her wide blond hair.

Knoxville Christmas Train Ride And I'm Now A Geek

For the past two years, Eliza has taken her family on the Christmas Lantern Express and this year we went along.  The ride is put on by the Three Rivers Rambler- “The Three Rivers Rambler is an excursion train in Knoxville, Tennessee along the Tennessee River. The train is operated by the Knoxville and Holston River Railroad, a subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways.”

Pesto, Pizza, Pasta, And Eliza BD

We had a couple of big basil plants at the end of the season so before they got frost bit, we opted to turn them into pesto just as we did last year.  After stripping the leaves from the plants, I packed them into large measuring cups and ended up with 12 cups.  Then I adjusted Ina Garten’s recipe for the other ingredients to match them. 

Low Country Boil For Eight With No Heat And Birthday Desserts

Wende and crew came down to celebrate my birthday and we did it a day late so Cindy could join us. I had considered making jambalaya but changed to low county boil to take advantage of the last of the fresh corn for the season. I used the recipe below which is designed for eight diners with some leftovers. 

Eliza Christmas, Neighborhood Ham And Bean Soup

Eliza and family didn’t make it down until Saturday for us to celebrate Christmas with her and for a meal on a rainy day we opted for a soup to use more of the leftover ham from Christmas dinner.  After looking around the web, I settled on the recipe for Neighborhood Ham And Bean Soup from Food.com.  But before we get to the meal lets have a look at Eliza having her second Christmas with Bev’s help.  As a seven year old, she walked in the door, gave me a hug, said Merry Christmas then asked "do you have presents for me." 😊

Chicken And Dumplings For The Grandkids – A Better Cooking Method

We recently had a long-weekend visit from grandkids, Reese and Riley Walker, and three of their friends and Bev likes to make dishes that she knows they really like such as chicken and dumplings for college girl Riley.  The dish had a great flavor but the chicken stuck to the pan bottom while the dumplings were cooking and since she had enough broth and chicken for another batch, we decided on a different cooking method for round two. 

Awesome French Toast Bananas Foster And Hot Dogs

Well, it was the last day for the visit from the grandkids and their friends and we decided to send them off with a breakfast special.  They all like French toast, they all like bananas, and Bev has been eager to make Bananas Foster so we decided to marry the two.  I modified the French toast recipe from Ina Garten and increased it by 50%.

Using The Smoked Pork And Chicken – Quesadillas And Breakfast Burritos

The grandkids had requested BBQ during their visit so I fired up the smoker and cooked a pork butt, two racks of spare ribs, chicken thighs, and wings.  We ate the ribs and wings for supper then I used the pulled pork and chicken thighs for Hispanic dishes.

A Visit From The Kids And Grandkids

Eric’s kids, Matthew and Luca, wanted to come spend some time in East Tennessee and with us on the lake.  Matthew brought his college girlfriend and Luca brought a friend from home for a nice eight-day visit.  We’d seen Matthew recently but it’s been six years since we’ve seen Luca as our RV trips that included a visit with them kept getting canceled – covid, coach issues, etc. 

Madison (Granddaughter) Comes For A Visit – Post 2

Even though it was cool and rainy during their visit, Madison and boyfriend, Zach, managed to get in some jet ski riding, a couple of walks around the area, and some time with her Meme.

Madison (Granddaughter) Comes For A Visit

If you’ve read my blog for a while, you likely recall that Madison lived with us for a few years spread over two visits but she hasn’t been here in quite a while so we were excited when she arranged a visit with her boyfriend Zach.  Since she had several food requests, it appears this was primarily a culinary visit and of course we were happy to oblige.  The only challenge was that Zach is gluten intolerant but we are used to cooking for good buddy Joe who has the same issue.

Delicious Manhattan Clam Chowder

We invited Eliza and her family down for Sunday supper and since her mom (Wende) just had a birthday, we asked if she had a request for the meal.  She chose Manhattan Clam Chowder, which was uncanny as I’d been thinking about it recently myself – haven’t made it in several years.  The original recipe is for a slow cooker and makes about three quarts, but since I wanted enough for leftovers and to send home with Wende, I doubled the recipe to get the one below.

Before we ate, Eliza enjoyed the 60F temperature to take a spin in the big wheel, which is kept here, and she invented a new way to play T-ball.

Creamed Cauliflower (aka Creamy Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower with Bacon) & Thanksgiving Dinner

When daughter Wende invited me over for what is becoming her traditional Thanksgiving supper of Cornish hens cooked over an open fire, I volunteered to bring a side dish.  My original choice was Brussels sprouts & sweet potato hash but when I saw Kevin’s recipe for Creamed Cauliflower, I changed my mind.

On his “Closet Cooking” blog, Kevin describes the dish as “A quick and easy stove-top creamed cauliflower with butter, garlic, parmesan, and bacon!”  I made it by his recipe below but since I made it ahead of time, I transferred to a dish for reheating at Wende’s and I used one of his options to add shredded cheese to the top.  For the complete list of options and his good how-to pics, just click on the above link.

But before I get the cauliflower, this is the main event being cooked over the open fire - potatoes and onions in the foil.

Eliza Brings Her Family For Salmon, Tots, And Peas & Carrots

We didn’t get together for Eliza’s birthday, so I invited her to bring her family down for Sunday dinner and to get her present.  The menu for the meal was a 3lb.6oz. piece of Sockeye Salmon, baked tater tots, and peas and carrots.  I opted for the peas and carrots because I had several bags of peas in the freezer.  Rather than our normal of just tossing them in butter, I decided to use Neli’s recipe for Carrots and Peas from her “Delicious Meets Healthy” blog.  I doubled her recipe to get the one below but the original can be found by clicking on the above link.

Eliza Finally Rides, Kitty Drinks, and My Morning Walk

After getting Eliza her first bike and a big wheel in early April, we have finally gotten together to give them to her.  She’s getting them now so she can use them this summer since her BD and Christmas are Nov & Dec – but you knew that.

We got the Big Wheel for her to use when she comes here to ride on our driveway and the bike to take home and use in a park on grass to start – less skinned up body parts that way.

Awesome Greek Chicken, Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad

Before I get to the food, I was surprised while watching a nature show when the host said “this bird can see in color.”  It never occurred to me that all animals didn’t see in color so I did a search on dogs and was surprised to find that they basically see just blue and yellow and this is what we see vs. them.

The rest of you dog lovers likely already knew this but I was glad to learn it.  My buddy Joe is color blind and this may be what he sees or something similar.

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.

Christmas At Our House 2022 – Very Eventful

For our Christmas meal this year we invited daughter, Wende, and family, our friends Kathy and Pat, which along with Cindy, Pat, Bev, and me, gave us 10 diners which fit our number of chairs.

Transylvanian Goulash Inspired Dish And Thanksgiving At Wende’s

When I saw this recipe for Transylvanian Goulash from Debbie on her “A Feast For The Eyes” blog and with my girls, who would be lukewarm on trying it, off in Florida, I was inspired to make a similar dish for myself, especially since I had some pork chops in the freezer and a jar of kraut in the fridge. 

Since I was making it for just me, I halved the ingredient amounts and changed the cooking method so as not to overcook the chops as I prefer them slightly pink.  I debated whether to leave the chops whole or cut them up and I opted for the former.  You can click on the above link for Debbie's original recipe and how-to pics.

Humor For Us Old Dogs Out There And A New Television

I'm a kid at heart and have always enjoyed a good snow fix so if I had heat and power, and a supply of wood for my fireplace, I would have loved being in Buffalo this weekend and maybe you to Betsy.