Shopping Day Stroganoff

Today was payday for us military families and it's always the day that I usually have to run errands, bill paying, grocery shopping, etc. This usually ends up meaning that we will probably eat take out because I will not want to cook. I'm trying to get better about it, because I would rather go out less and go somewhere good, then to waste money on mediocre fast food. Anyway, I picked up some of the Hormel beef tips and gravy that are already cooked from the refrigerator section and made a plan for a quick dinner that actually was pretty good.

Shopping Day Stroganoff

2 packages Hormel Beef Tips in Gravy
8oz. package fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sour cream
12 oz. package egg noodles

Saute the mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil until tender. Add both packages of beef tips and heat through. Meanwhile cook the egg noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and add to the skillet along with the sour cream. Mix well and serve.

This made a large skillet full of food. My kids and I had decent sized portions, my hubby had a ginormous portion, and we still had a lot left!! I served this with steamed broccoli, cinnamon apples, and Texas toast that I made into garlic toast. Everyone really enjoyed this meal and it was cheaper and better than fast food.

Labor Day Recipes!

You know how a lot of people talk about all the warm fuzzy memories that they have from cooking in the kitchen with their moms? How this was where they learned to cook? Well, I have no such memories. When I was growing up, my mom did not like for us to be under her feet while she was in the kitchen, which is a shame, because my mom is an awesome cook. Because of this fact, I have had to teach myself to cook over the last 15 years. When my husband and I got married, I could not cook much of anything. I have come a long way, and many people tell me that I am an awesome cook! Now, I don't know about that, but I do know that I love being in the kitchen creating. It is an escape for me. I like to be alone in my kitchen like my mom did, but I try to be more willing to welcome my kiddos in when they want to watch or help. My 13 year old daughter is uninterested in cooking, while my two boys love to help. My youngest says that he is either going to be a chef or a football player when he grows up.
My journey in the kitchen has had a lot of bumps along the road and there are still a few recipes that I cannot seem to master. I cannot duplicate my mom's beef tips and gravy. While mine are good, there is just "something" missing! I also cannot for the life of me fry chicken to my liking. My family always says that they love it, but it's just never "right" to me. Because of this, I only attempt this recipe once or twice a year!! Eggplant Parmesan is another recipe that I have trouble with ....I just never like the way mine comes out and I've tried several methods. Any help in these areas would be much appreciated. I finally succeeded in making something awesome today that I have had trouble with .....BBQ spare ribs. They have always been tough or charred. I changed my cooking method and the result was wonderful. Even my meat-hating son said that they were his favorite part of the meal....that was a huge compliment. I even managed to create a new family favorite AND dessert!!!

Lisa's BBQ Ribs

1 slab pork ribs (mine were vaccuum sealed and weighed about 4-5 lbs.)
McCormick Grill Mates Sweet and Smoky Rub
Cattleman's BBQ sauce

This is not so much a recipe as a method. I have a large stainless steel roasting pan that has a rack that fits inside. I took this and place about 2 cups water in the bottom and sprinkled in some of the rub. I put the rack in the pan and placed the ribs on this and rubbed generously all over on both sides with the spice rub. I placed the ribs, meaty side up, on the rack. I then
covered tightly with foil and baked at 300* for 3-4 hours, depending on the size of your ribs. I then cut the ribs into smaller slabs of about 2 ribs apiece and grilled them over medium heat, glazing with the BBQ sauce. I have found that the best way to keep your sauce from charring on your meat, you should warm it before brushing it on your meat. These turned out so good, we had none left!!

Recipe #2

Lisa's Black Bean and Corn Salad

1 bag frozen corn, thawed (I ran hot water over this and drained in a colander)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 green onions, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, diced
Juice from 1 lime
Cilantro, optional
1-2 Tbs. olive oil
splash red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all and let sit to "meld" flavors. Can serve at room temperature.

P.S. My mom is an awesome lady and I love her very much....she just didn't like us in her kitchen while she was cooking. She is a little bit high strung and I think it stressed her out!!

Editor's note

I just realized that I spelled "expiration" wrong. I also realized that I neglected to specify that you are supposed to saute your veggies in the olive oil.....sorry!!

A Recipe....sort of

My family and I have differing view points on a lot of subjects, one of the most major being the way that we eat. They would be happy eating the same few things all the time, while I am a bit more adventurous, which can pose a problem while trying to feed 3 growing picky kids and an equally picky husband. Sometimes, it can take all the fun out of cooking, and other times, it can become a fun challenge to get them to eat things that they might not otherwise. I took on this challenge today after church. When our kids started back to school a couple of weeks ago, I went out and bought all sorts of goodies for them to put into their lunchboxes. Lunches are 2.oo per day where we live, so it is much cheaper to pack a lunch then buy what's in the cafeteria. I bought chips, granola bars, fruit....the usual stuff. I also bought some shaved roast beef, turkey, ham, and peanut butter for their sandwiches. Like I said before, I like to have a variety. Not so for my kiddos, as when I looked into the refrigerator, the package of roast beef was untouched and close to the experation date. They informed me that they do not like that kind of roast beef, even though they will eat Arby's. ????? Well, in these hard financial times I am sick of throwing out food, so I decided that I would try to make something that they would eat and that would keep me from throwing away yet another package of untouched lunch meat. The verdict? 4 out of 5 of us loved it and will be having it again. My daughter is still too picky to even attempt to eat a sandwich with onions, so she ate a leftover hamburger.

Lisa's Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

1 package shaved roast beef (I think mine was Oscar Meyer-a yellow package)
olive oil
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 package fresh sliced mushrooms
salt and pepper, to taste
A-1 steak sauce
fresh hoagie buns from the bakery section of your grocery store
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic
provolone cheese
mayonaisse

Stack your roast beef and slice into strips and set aside. Thinly slice your peppers and onions. Heat a skillet over medium high heat and saute your peppers and onions until they start to carmelize. Add your mushrooms and saute for a couple of minutes until they start to soften. Add some salt and pepper to taste and then stir in some steak sauce, probably about 2 or 3 tablespoons. Let this cook for a few minutes and then add your meat and stir and heat through. Add more steak sauce if desired, but you don't want it "too wet or soupy". Remove from heat and set aside. Melt the butter over medium heat. Peel your garlic and smash it with the side of your knife and put it in the butter. Let the butter melt completely, then remove your garlic cloves. Cut open your buns and brush with the garlic butter. Broil for just long enough to barely toast your bread, not to brown it. Take your bun tops off of the cookie sheet and set aside. Top bun bottoms with meat and provolone and put under the broiler to melt the cheese. Spread bun tops with mayo, place on sandwiches and serve immediately.

Sick and Tired

Well, I had good intentions of trying to post everyday, but you know how that goes. Busy weekend and then was up all night Sunday with an upset stomach and have been feeling sick all day today. Did I mention that the flu is going around the small town that I live in? I just hope my kids don't catch whatever it is. School just started and I hate for them to start missing days right off the bat. There is so much going on at the beginning of the school year and it's not the best time to be home sick. That being said, if my kids are sick, I do keep them at home. It is a pet peeve of mine when people send their children to school sick. First of all, that's how things spread and secondly, they need to be home in bed resting, poor things. Of course, then I feel guilty for judging people. Sometimes when both parents have to work to get by and they have no one to watch their kids, they don't have a lot of options short of leaving the kiddos home alone to fend for themselves, and that's not ideal either. Anyway, hopefully, I just had a little bug and it will be all better tomorrow. I have got to get to the grocery store! We are out of a lot of things and I'd like to get back in the kitchen and hopefully post a recipe or two pretty soon. I also am about to start working on some cards that I may start selling, and I'd like to post those as well to get some feedback. I do have to make a birthday card tomorrow for a sweet baby boy at church who is turning 1 year old. He is the cutest little thing ever!

First post....a little about me.

How did I become an "accidental housewife"? Well, it's been a long journey to get here, and it's definitely not what I ever imagined my life would be. I would not trade being where I am now for the world, though at times, I might want a little vacation! My mom was a housewife and I can remember some really hard times. We grew up without a lot of material things, but my mom was always there to take care of us. When I was 13 years old, my dad passed away, and my mom was left with 3 young girls to care for and no job skills at the age of 43. It was hard as a teenager to not be resentful at not having as much as other kids our age and that's when I decided that I would NEVER let what happened to my mom happen to me! I was never getting married or having kids and I was going to have a job that paid a ton. I earned a scholarship to college and decided to double major in Economics and Law and that I wanted to be a corporate attorney. I would be rolling in the bucks and life would be perfect....right? Wrong! It took me struggling through two semesters of college to decide that there was no way that I wanted that life. It was boring and lifeless (no offense to any economists or attorneys out there-if that's your passion, then more power to you) Growing up, people always told me that I would make a great teacher. I was good with kids and loved working with them. Of course, I fought it tooth and nail. Teachers don't make any money. Well, after taking a year off from college, that's exactly where I found my passion. I went back to school and started working towards a teaching degree, which is not so easy when you have to work full time to support yourself. My life was soon to take yet another unexpected turn when I met the love of my life, Erik. I had just sworn off guys, so of course, that's when we would meet. He asked me to marry him on our 3rd date, and on July 8th, we celebrated our 14th anniversary. We have 3 awesome and wonderful kiddos-Katie (13), Justin (11), and Jordan (10). I had to put college on hold since we had our kids so quickly because I had to work to help support the family. My hubby is in the Air Force and when we married, he was very low in rank and made no money. Of course, my job at a professional photo lab only paid me about 5 bucks an hour, so needless to say, our first years were tough! I kept wishing that I could stay at home with my babies and finally about 5 years ago, we took the plunge. It has been so great. I am able to be at every party, concert, play, first day, everything. With a husband in the military who has missed a lot of these things, I feel blessed that I have been able to be there for my kids when he can't. It hasn't always been easy financially, but I don't regret it for a minute.

Now that my kids are getting older, I'm feeling a little lost, I guess. They don't really need me as much, or really want me hovering, so this is giving me more free time. I used to feel so sad to even think about the fact that they are growing up, but lately, I'm feeling a little excited for my next chapter in life. What will I do now? Do I want to go back to school? Do I want to continue to stay home and take care of the family full time? For now, I do primarily stay at home, but I also substitute teach part time, and I love it. I am able to do something that I love, which is work with kids. I don't have to deal with angry parents or paperwork or grades. I get the fun aspects of teaching. Plus, I can work as much as little as I want, which gives me time to pursue some of my other passions. I love cooking and I love creating. I love to get in the kitchen and come up with my own recipes. Sometimes, I go way of Martha and make everything from scratch. Other days, I go a little Sandra Lee and take boxes from the pantry to come up with something my own. Some recipes work and others fail miserably. Usually, one person is going to have a problem with something I serve. It's very rare that every one loves the same thing, which used to drive me nuts! I love making crafts and I've really gotten into stamping and making cards and using my Cricut. My hope for this blog is that it will be a place to share my thoughts, recipes, cards, etc. Maybe I can connect with others like me, who ended up somewhere that they never imagined they'd be. I'd like to hear some of your stories, too. I really love writing, but haven't really done it much over the past 14 years, so if I'm a little rusty, I apologize!