Home Cooking Mama is moving!

Home Cooking Mama is moving! Not the blog but me! After 10 wonderful years in Louisiana, my family is moving to Florida in a few weeks. I'm excited about the adventure. I will be sad and miss so much of the wonderful food local to Louisiana.

I have big plans after the move. As many of you who have been reading the blog know I have a health issue that is made worse by processed food and an unhealthy diet. You will also know that recently I have developed a strong desire to start making everything from scratch to be more in control of the items that are in our diet. This only gets more important as more and more news stories about the harmful effects of chemicals and the fact the FDA doesn't seem to care as to whether the things they approve will kill us or not.

With all the change around here things have not been normal and I haven't been as diligent with the diet. Plus I started Weight Watchers to help me get rid of this spare tire I seem to have acquired after two pregnancies.

I am very excited that the town we are moving to has a weekly farmers market that looks amazing from the website. We have a few here but they aren't too impressive. Plus the new house has a massive kitchen and I will have the space to do what I need! More about all that in a later post! I'm excited about the new adventure and see it as a new opportunity to put the health of my family as a priority.

The biggest down side is my beloved chickens won't be coming with us. I will dearly  miss them and their fresh eggs. But I don't believe I will be going back to buy store eggs, it would be a step backwards.

So hang with me for a month or so till I get settled and then I will be sharing the journey!

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Pinterest and my homemade journey.

Again I find myself neglectful of the blog. To explain the craziness of my life is an understatement and Home Cooking Mama has been last on the list. One of these days I will get into such a wonderful state of organization and well managed time that I will be able to do all the wonderful 'extras' that make me smile.

But for now I will simply TRY.

I've been using that word alot with my oldest son recently, TRY. You never fail as long as you are trying, it's when you quit that you truly fail!

So anyhow you all should know by now that I'm trying my best to turn my meals into from scratch cooking. But recently that translated into why do they put so much crap in everything and why am I paying someone else to make this for me.

As I was checking Facebook last night I noticed a post from one of my friends about how she had made her own laundry detergent. She posted the pin from Pinterest. The thought came to me that Pinterest has changed the world for so many of us. This same friend has gone from processed meals to home cooked meals thanks to vast resources of ideas. We are now brave enough to try to make our own detergent and pretty much anything else you can think of.

I'm so frustrated by the health issues we all have now a days. Allergies are a nightmare in this house and before my journey into motherhood began I could use antihistamines, post pregnancy and breastfeeding, I have hallucinogenic nightmares (which is actually a side effect) so can't use those anymore. I do have a steroid nasal spray but really who wants to pump steroids into their body. 

Then there's the cleaning products issue, lets talk chemicals. I use bleach in my laundry (for the towels to stop mildewing in the humid Louisiana weather) well recently Clorox made their bleach CONCENTRATED. I'm trying to understand the need to concentrating everything!!!! Anyhow I have been noticing rust on my 2 year old washing machine but only on the part where I pour the bleach in and it's only appeared since the bleach got concentrated! This kind of a scary thought that this stuff is eroding my metal washer.

I have a huge problem being able to breath after I use cleaning product, Lysol being the number one culprit. Although two small kids and a stomach virus outweighs the ability to breath. So I've tried numerous products that are less chemical. I had a friend introduce me to a product that everyone that I have spoken to about has praised but sadly its a product that is tied up in some sort of multi level thing and just to become a customer it's so complicated and minimum requirements. What happened to the good old days of you have a wonderful product, you stick a price on it and the customer pays the product? Ok direct marketing rant over!!! 

My friend's laundry detergent creation has inspired me to give it a go. Then that thought lead me to the thought 'WHY STOP THERE' (famous last words!!) why not dive head first into a 'DIY Homemade from scratch so I know what ingredients are in stuff' adventure. I may not do something everyday but I'm going to share the adventure with you!!! And yes there is a huge possibility I have completely lost my mind this time and crossed the line to where a padded cell is in my near future. My life is insane at the moment and so many big issues are out of my control. Usually when this happens I start doing crazy stuff like reorganising the CD collection into alphabetical order or some other OCD behavior. Am I OCD, not usually, which is a shame, I might actually get more stuff done. 

I always have this sinking feeling that we are missing something, we have all these amazing gadgets and products to make life simpler but yet we seem to be busier and running around in circles more. We're doing something wrong, not sure what but something!!! Maybe the numerous hours spent in doctors offices or in pain or discomfort from our ailments has a lot to do with it. Maybe it's time to take control of our lives!!!!

So it's the end of the month and time for a fresh start! Let see where this adventure takes me!

WOO HOO!!!

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Better late than never - March Meal Plan

Well it's better late than ever, I've posted the March Meal Plan. Click here to see it.

I will try to get on the ball more and get the plans updated on time!!!

Happy Home Cooking!

Meyer Lemon Pudding

One of my newest obsessions is Pinterest! By far the best addition to the internet ever!!! I actually wondered the other day what I did before it existed. Not only is it a rich source of inspiration for recipes but I've built and decorated about 5 dream homes and I have the most amazing virtual wardrobe, plus an organised home-school lesson plan ideas. 

Anyhow I digress! While doing my daily trip to Pinterest land I saw this beautiful picture of a Meyer lemon pudding. So I just had to make it. With my new found desire to make everything from scratch pudding just seemed like a sure thing. Plus my sweet little hens have been lying well so using eggs didn't seem like a waste.

I have to say that it was wonderful and my sweet boys were addicted. They actually couldn't wait for it cool and we had to taste while it was still warm and it was delicious. To please my picky 5 year old is not easy!!!

So Meyer lemons. I'll be honest I've learnt a lot about them this past weekend. They are a species that originates in China and is supposed to be a cross between a lemon and an orange, strange feeling there's a joke in there somewhere!!!! Anyhow I know that they are a winter harvested fruit and we're kinda in that spring season now. I honestly didn't go looking for them and just did the half lemon/half orange switch which worked well.

One of the things that amazed me when I moved to Louisiana was the ability to grow 'tropical' type fruit. Lets face it Northern Ireland is far from tropical. So I'm thinking a Meyer lemon tree maybe moving into my back yard.

Meyer Lemon Pudding

Ingredients:

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

2 ½ cups whole milk

3 extra large egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 T finely grated Meyer lemon zest (or 1 T lemon zest & 1 T orange zest)

¼ tsp kosher salt

½ cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (or ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice & ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice)

2 T unsalted butter at room temperature

Directions:

1.    In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.

2.    Add the milk, egg yolks, zest and salt and whisk until smooth.

3.    Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently at first and constantly toward the end, until thickened.

4.    Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the citrus juice and butter.

5.    Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer.

6.    Divide the mixture into 6 serving dishes and let cool at room temperature.

7.    Refrigerate, loosely covered (tightly covered will trap too much moisture, making a watery pudding) for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.

8.    Serve chilled by itself or with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Source recipe

Happy Home Cooking!

Homemade Bread!

Well on my journey to stop paying other people to make things that I can make myself (and yes I understand some people have extremely busy lives and can't) I have gone down the homemade bread road. For the last few months I've been experimenting with some recipes to see which one will fit our family. To say I have fallen in love is an understatement. This bread is moist and is still wonderful after 2 days, I don't know about any longer because it only made it that long because I specifically kept some to see. Although we have found that to make sandwiches that won't be eaten right away it doesn't seem to hold up.

I have to admit that I have been a mindless food purchaser and not really paid attention to labels and from time to time I would get a notion to but it was never a long lived thing, convenience seemed to win over. I recently took a look at the store bought bread we have used for years and saw all sorts of weird named ingredients. Now I know that they need it to preserve the bread so it has a shelf life but when you make fresh bread and see how long it lasts its a little scary how well these preservatives work! 

The trick for me is going to be timing and staying on top of the bread supply. Recently I haven't been too good at getting up early so bread for lunch has been a little late. I have horrible time management skills and really need to work on discipling myself and working to a schedule. Some recent changes around here will really go along way to helping me achieve this goal. I think a few more attempts and I will have my timing down perfect for the lunch time loaf of bread.

The original recipe this is adapted from is the Food Networks Alton Brown from Good Eats, Very Basic Bread Recipe. I love his show, well some of it, not the silly parts. I love the way he goes into the science behind cooking. It really is a science when you break it down. It also helps you to understand why you do the things you do at a specific stage in the cooking process. Anyhow I have changed the method Mr Brown used because it required some prepping the night before and I didn't feel the yeast was activating as much as I would have liked. So I got Julia Child's french bread recipe which is delicious. I took some of the method she used and applied it to Alton's recipe. Anyhow the results was amazing. The bread rose better and had a much better shape but still retained the taste.

My ingredients list is simple and this makes it cheaper than a store bought loaf. I love the fact that it is honey not sugar. Yeast needs sugar or honey to do it's thing but I much prefer the ability to use honey instead of sugar because its much less refined.

The shallow pan with hot water in it at the bottom of the oven will help to get a soft crust and keep the bread moist while it cooks. But I cannot impress on you the importance of being careful when you open the oven door, water and hot oven equals lots and lots of hot burning steam, I KNOW!!!!!! Facial like I've never experienced nor care to again!!!!

I've made the bread at night and it's been perfect for sandwiches the next day. Although it didn't seem to hold up for my husband when he made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the morning and went to eat it at lunchtime.

By the way this is delicious with the Home Made Butter from January. In fact makes a peasant food like bread and butter feel like a luxury! I'll not even mention how delicious the BLT sandwich is either!!!

So give it a go you never know you could get addicted like me!!!!

Home Made Bread

Ingredients:

1 lb/16 oz bread flour, plus extra for shaping

1 tsp instant rapid rise yeast

2 tsp honey

10 oz of lukewarm water

1/2 tsp salt

2 quart hot water

Directions:

1. Combine yeast, lukewarm water and honey. Let stand for five minutes.

2. Stir together flour and salt in the bowl of a mixer. 

3. Using the dough hook attachment, add the yeast mixture to the bowl.
4. Knead the mixture on low for 2 - 3 minutes until the mixture comes together.

5. Cover the dough in the bowl with a tea towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

6. After 20 minutes, knead the dough on medium speed for 5 - 10 minutes. The dough will be sticky but shouldn't be too sticky to handle.

7. Add half of the hot water to a shallow pan and place on the bottom rack of your oven. DO NOT TURN THE OVEN ON.

8. Place the dough in the mixer bowl in the oven on the rack directly above the hot water. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 - 2 hours.

9. Once the dough has risen turn it onto a counter top, lightly dust your hands with flour and press the dough out with your knuckles.

10. Grease the loaf pan with butter and sprinkle with flour.

11. Mold the dough into a shape about the size of the loaf pan and set it inside. Cover and allow to rest for about 30 minutes till 1 hour until it has risen.

12. Turn your oven on to 400 degrees F. Add more water to the shallow pan if it has evaporated. REMEMBER BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL OPENING THE OVEN DOOR FROM THIS POINT ON - STEAM!!!!!

13. Place you bread in the oven and allow to cook for 35 - 40 minutes. Once the bread has reached an internal temperature of 205 to 210 degrees F, remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. (If you are like me at least give it a few minutes so you don't burn yourself!).

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Turning a new leaf...

I know I have been absent from the blog for awhile and I apologize. My life is non stop on the best of days but recently it's been back to back sickness around here. It really has got me frustrated.

You know I'm all about home cooking and pretty much from scratch too. Being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome was the beginning of a change for me. However pregnancy, breast feeding and motherhood have side tracked me a little. I do wonder what I used to do with all my free time before the boys.

I have replaced a huge amount of the processed prepackaged food but recently I've been wondering if I have gone far enough and if our diet is healthy enough. Before the beginning of the sickness period I had danced with the idea of the Low Glycemic Load Diet. There's just one problem, I'm from Northern Ireland and carbs are in our genetic make up, it was like trying to learn to write with my left hand after always being right handed. So in the middle of that horrible stomach virus and the aftermath where ALL I wanted was a cup of tea and a slice of toast I had a rethink. After all potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, etc have been part of my diet all my life. What changed 10 years ago was my activity levels. Who knew having a car was bad for your health!!! So I decided that as much as I hate exercise, that is the direction of my path to reduce the weight. After all look at how gorgeous Nigella Lawson is and she loves to cook real fun food.

I have recently become more aware of what is in our food. I mean Hamburger Helper and the like are no brainers, you know that they are full of preservatives. But then I looked at our bread label, and the shredded cheese bag and suddenly I realized my naivety. Did you know that they use a ton of stuff in the cheese to keep it shredded and don't get me started on the bread. Needless to say that I am now buying blocks of cheese and dusted off the wonderful cheese grater that our niece gave us as a wedding present. 

I feel like I'm on a journey right now with regard to food. I guess that I have been ignorant and mindless about my food for years. I remember the day when I discovered you could make mayonnaise, it was from the little cafe below my office in London that made the best bacon butty. I asked them which brand of mayonnaise they used and they told me they made it fresh every day. I was amazed and awe stuck and you could taste the difference. And yes I've been working on the perfect mayonnaise recipe. 

So hopefully I can get you all caught up with the Home Cooking Mama kitchen. The one thing my journey is showing me is that from scratch is so much better. And yes I know not everyone has the time and I understand that, I will always try to keep that in mind when I'm posting recipes. 

For now I'm going to sign off and go have dessert - homemade Meyer Lemon Pudding. The boys have been driving me nuts since I put it in the fridge to set, so I guess I'll put us all out of our misery!!! I'll share the recipe later in the week!

Happy Home Cooking!

Sad day for Home Cooking Mama!

It's a sad day for me as one of my sweet hens, Sexlink, is no longer with us. She was a good wee hen but had been sickly recently. Thanks for all the delicious eggs! I hope she is resting well now!

Sexlink

March 2010 - February 2013

Who says you can't have your cake and eat it!!!!

I have a friend that I have the hugest amount of respect for because she has done something that I am not capable of doing. She has converted to a completely carb and sugar free life for her health. Not only has she lost weight but she looks so fabulous now. 

Well after her conversion I had a dilemma, I love to make birthday cakes or cupcakes or something for a friends birthday and well cake and cupcakes are no longer an option for her. So last year I got the idea to make a fruit cake, not your Granny's fruit cake that is dry and soaked in ten million gallons of alcohol. It's a cake made from fruit and nothing else. Now if sugar had been option then something with cream cheese and sugar could have been added but we're sticking with straight fruit.

Anyhow it isn't the best looking cake but it's definitely better than no cake.

I made the base of the cake from seedless watermelon. This was messy as the melon was juicy. A little freezer time would make it easier to carve.

I used wooden skewers and placed a round slice of kiwi on the watermelon then added green grapes with a strawberry on the top. To add a little decoration to the bottom I sliced green grapes and placed them around the bottom edge.

I really don't recommend that this cake travels too far and like I said I'm sure some sort of glaze or frosting would have help secure everything but if you want just fruit.

I will have to revisit this idea later and maybe be more adventurous. 

Happy Home Cooking! 

My Personal Meal Plan

I sat down this morning and took a look at the meal plan for the rest of the month. Just in case you ever wondered what my personal one looks like by the end of the month, I thought I would share it.

As you can see nothing is written in stone or permanent ink for that matter. It's constantly being reevaluated as the month and our needs change. 

That's the whole point to the Month Meal Plan system, it's a starting point from which you can explore. Usually when I get to this stage I redo the whole thing and make it look neat and tidy. It also helps me when I go to do next months plan.

And before you say anything, yes it's not exactly the same as the one that I post on here. Some of the recipes are not refined enough yet and I do make changes to my personal one to suit our family.

If you are wondering the top food name for each day is lunch. I'm trying to some sort of schedule for that so that I don't have 2 screaming kids starving and me trying to figure out what I can make them quickly before my last thread of sanity is severed!!! Again work in progress!!!!

I just thought I would share this with you to show you that it doesn't have to perfect and it is OK to be flexible!!!

Happy Home Cooking!

Beef & Vegetable Soup

Recently I've started making soup at the weekends for lunch. Something comforting about soup in the winter, really any time of year. Anyhow I want to share one of my family's favorite soups, Beef & Vegetable Soup. It's delicious and it's even better the next day!!!!

Beef & Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs stewing steak

1/4 cup butter

1 cup coarsely chopped onions

1 cup coarsely chopped celery

1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper

1 cup slice carrots

1/4 cup minced garlic

8 cups beef stock

1 pint diced tomatoes

8 oz can tomato sauce

6 cubed red potatoes

1 cup corn

1 tin red kidney beans (drained)

Directions:

1. In a stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Sear meat to nice brown coloring then add onions, celery, bell peppers, carrots, and garlic. Saute for 3 - 5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted.

2. Add beef stock, tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours.

3. Add potatoes, corn and beans. Cook an additional 25 minutes.

4. Season to taste using salt and black pepper. Additional beef stock may be added to retain the volume of liquid.

Happy Home Cooking!

I made BUTTER!!!

OK before I get starting I have to warn you this post comes with a RANT warning!!!

BUTTER...

I mentioned in the Rice & Gravy recipe post about my love of butter and that I would save the comments well I decided to not wait too long. One of my facebook friends posted about margarine and some interesting facts so I am jumping deeper into the situation.

If I had my way ALL margarine would be BANNED! Please people stop eating it!!!

Lets take a look at the ingredients:

American Margarine: Country Crock

Vegetable Oil Blend: (Liquid Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated soybean oil, Hydrogenated cottonseed oil) Water, Whey, Milk, Salt, Vegetable mono and diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium Edta, Citric Acid, Artificial Flavor, Vitamin A (Palmitate), Beta Carotene (for color)

American Butter: Land O Lakes

Sweet Cream, Salt

So 15 ingredients versus 2!!!!! And two natural ones at that!!! Plus lots of vague mystery items like Artificial flavor which could mean anything. The most alarming ingredient is the Calcium Disodium Edta, which is made using FORMALDEHYDE! 

British Margarine: Flora

Water, Vegetable Oils (seed oils 83%), Buttermilk, Salt (1.4%), Emulsifiers (Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids, Sunflower Lecithin), Flavouring, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Citric Acid, Colour (Beta-Carotene), Vitamin A and D

British Butter: Kerry Gold

Milk, salt

So again about 11 ingredients versus 2.

Now I know all the cholesterol arguments and trust me I grew up in a house where Flora was the stable and I hated the taste of the stuff. On my journey over the last few years of looking at what I'm eating, labels have become somewhat interesting to me. I am a recovered Diet Coke addict, and yes I was addicted and yes I think rehab would have helped me kick me, it was that bad!!!! What really stopped me with the Diet Coke was when it came out in the news that Benzene, one of the ingredients, is a component of gasoline. So when I looked at the label and saw the chemistry experiment that is Diet Coke it didn't seem very appetizing anymore. We really don't drink soda anymore in our house and if we do I tend to make it Coke or 7 Up which both seem to have non chemical ingredients. So margarine is that same category for me, a chemistry experiment disguised as food! Let's face it margarine was not created by a culinary genius but by a French Chemist in 1813.

Back to the cholesterol issue, yes we have heart disease but I've heard many people state that the low-fat/non-fat diet has not done a thing to reduce heart disease and in fact since the whole thing began obesity and diabetes have increased astronomically. So really is fat that bad? Is cholesterol in our diet the killer? Have we really looked at the long term effects of a preservative that is made from FORMALDEHYDE? A molecule here and a process change there and some of these 'food' items are one step away from plastic! And if they are preserving the food what are they doing to our bodies? Never mind the fact that they have to add artificial flavorings to all this to make it consumable. 

So in my book a little butter is a much safer risk than a chemistry experiment. It's flavor is natural and before you say anything I use unsalted butter and rarely the salted variety. I was watching an episode of Paula Deen's show and she had the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, on and Ree made the comment that she doesn't count the butter she has in her refrigerator by sticks but by pounds. I had to giggle because I'm the same. Two of my favorite cooks and they are both like me butter fans!!!

So this whole thought process got me thinking about the whole making it myself instead of paying other people to thing and I decided to give it a go. After watching numerous videos on the internet (and there are numerous videos on the subject) I got busy. Thankfully modern technology has made it easier for us than my grandmother and I didn't have to get a butter churner out, although I want to give that a go!!!! My Kitchen Aid mixer is by far one of the best gifts my husband has given me (after our two gorgeous precious sons of course, and my sewing machine)! The whole process was done in less than 10 minutes!!!

Now a quick note of the by-product, buttermilk! I have heard of people drinking a glass of buttermilk as a treat before bed, but the buttermilk I've got at the store never seemed appealing in that way! Well I tried the buttermilk from my experiment and it was delicious!!!! OK now I understand!!!!

So go on, if you have some heavy whipping cream and a mixer give it ago. Trust me you will not be disappointed. I can't wait until the next time I'm in Northern Ireland because the milk over there is a million times more superior to here and I can only imagine how much more delicious that butter will be!!!!!

Oh one last note, care of my husband. The TV show Modern Marvels is a favorite in this house and it just so happened that yesterday butter was the subject. They said that they store butter in containers that you can't see through because light can cause the butter to go rancid quicker. So just a tip for storage, keep an old butter container and use that.

Homemade Butter

Ingredients: 

2 cups of heavy cream (at room temperature)

Ice water

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. With the whisk attachment on the mixer add the cream to the mixer and set to high (or whatever level is going fast but not sending cream flying everywhere!!).

2. Sit back and wait, all of a sudden the butter and the milk will separate, if you do walk away you will hear a sloshing noise all of a sudden.

3. When they separate switch the whisk attachment for the paddle, it will make life easier. Turn the mixer back on for a few minutes more.

4. Carefully drain the buttermilk into a jar and set aside.

5. Add a little ice water (but make sure not to get ice in it!!) to the butter and start the mixer again. You are sort of washing the butter to get the last of the buttermilk out. Pour out the milky water and discard.  Repeat this process until the water stays clear.

6. Add a pinch of salt and mix one last time and store in the refrigerator!

Happy Home Cooking!!!!

Rice & Gravy

Ok rice and gravy is probably the most unimaginative name for this one but over the past 10 years when my hubby asked what's for dinner that's what I told him and he knew what I meant.

I use round steaks and cook them in a gravy. And yes, you guessed it, I serve it with rice! Although the Northern Irish comes out in me and I have to have potatoes of any form with it! Recently I've been on a roast potatoes kick, although honestly they have always been one of my favorite ways to eat potatoes. There is nothing more glorious than a perfectly crisp roast potato, with it yummy fluffy inside, smothered in gravy! YUMMY!!! At this time I'll take a moment to wipe the drool from my face and compose myself!

OK back to meal in hand, Rice and gravy as I call it. This is a little more involve meal and requires starting early (although if you went to play in Pinterest land and lost track of time like I do frequently, a hotter stove and constant attention can reduce the time.)

This is also an amazing dish for the crock pot. Left alone all day to cook makes this dish perfect and I need to use my crockpot more!

I use butter for my roux with this one, oil will work too but I prefer the taste of butter and the creamy feel it adds. I'm sure somehow I'm a close relative of Paula Deen! However the butter issue will be a for another day and post, trust me I have strong opinions there!!

As the title suggests you can serve the steaks and gravy over rice but really any side dish works great with this, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, wild rice...and the list goes on. We have rice and potatoes the perfect Cajun/Irish mix! I always do some sort of vegetable too, again whatever works for your family.

Oh and one other note, I'm crazy about garlic, so I add a nice amount of it. You can omit it or reduce it to your taste.

Rice & Gravy

4 eye of round steaks, trimmed of fat

1 onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup flour

4 cups beef stock

1 teaspoon kitchen bouquet

Tony's seasoning to taste

1. Season steaks with salt and pepper (or Tony's if you are me!).

2. Add onion and garlic to skillet. Place the steaks on top and cook until the steaks turn brown. A little debris at the bottom of the skillet is OK, if it gets too bad add a little water.

3. When steaks are brown remove to a plate and set aside.

4. Add enough water to the skillet to deglaze it and pour liquid into a bowl. You could use wine although I've never tried.

5. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in skillet and add flour. Stir constantly for 5 minutes.

6. Using a whisk, stir in the beef stock (it's always a good idea to have the beef stock warm). When nice and smooth add kitchen bouquet and seasoning.

At this stage you can add it to the crockpot and let it do its thing all day.

7. For the stove top method, Cook on low for about 2 hours stirring regularly to prevent burning. Trust me on this one!!!!

Happy Home Cooking!

Happy New Year!

Well it's January 1st again! To be honest I'm beyond hopeless at keeping resolutions! Last years was to be healthier and happier. I don't think I can say I achieved either. Life is more stressful and I still need to lose 30lbs and get into shape.

However...I did try! That's the point, we try!!!

So this year I'm not really making resolutions. Although today is a good place to hit the reset button! So that's what I started doing yesterday (because Mondays are neat and tidy weekly fresh starts!).

I'm back to P90X and watching what I eat. I'm not going carb free, I love food and especially carbs! However there will be a dramatic reduction in their consumption. I'm starting a new trend Reduced Carb because sometimes you just need a chocolate cupcake and a carrot won't cut it!!!

My main focus food wise is to reduce the amount of pre-made food I consume. We are too convenience orientated and we now pay more for our food because we are paying for someone else to make it. Bread is a prime example!!! So that's my mission for this year to make the things I can make myself! Not only will I save money and reduce the preservatives and additives that are in food but they will taste better and I may even burn a few calories in the process!

Example in point Burger Buns! Saturday night we made burgers and I decided that I wanted to make my own buns. I did buy some burger buns at the store as standby, always a good idea when trying something new! They were so simple and beyond delicious and a fraction of the cost. Plus why do buns come in packs of 8, at most we use 3. And I hate to say it but more times than I care they end up going stale and the chickens get a bonus meal.

Tonight I'm trying bread. I've made it before but not consistently. I figure all that kneading will help with stress relief and calories!

The latter half of 2012 was beyond chaos and I did get lax with my meal planning. It only leads to frustration, waste and more stress so back on track. Like I said I'm hitting the reset button.

Happy Home Cooking in 2013!!!

January Meal Plan

It's here the meal plan for January. I will try to add the missing recipes this month!

Go to the meal plan page for links to the recipes. January Meal Plan Page

Happy Home Cooking!!!