May, 2022 ~ ~ Spring has Sprung! What's cooking?

bethk wrote: Tonight will be Leftover Night ~ what better Mother's Day gift can I give myself than to empty out the refrigerator?

Neighbor Barb and her husband will be leaving on Wednesday and asked me on Saturday when I picked her up to go to Ladies' Lunch if I could use 3 bags of frozen peas and a tube of Crescent Rolls.  They had picked up too much (actually, just didn't do much cooking while they were here.....) and she didn't want to just dump them if I could use them.

The peas will get used eventually ~ something I usually have.  The crescent rolls......Hmmmmmm???  I'm not a huge fan.  Then I remembered that old 'recipe' for apple dumplings made with Crescent Rolls.  Why not?  It's easy enough, to be sure.  There are lots of 'recipes' for the dish ~ I just did a Google for 'Crescent Roll Apple Dumpling Recipe' and took my pick.  Most called for two cans of Crescent rolls but it was easy enough to half the recipe.  I did make my apple slices a bit larger than called for ~ my apples were small so I thought quartered was better than smaller bits.  

If you decide to make the recipe as well, keep in mind that they swell up quite a bit so be sure to put the dish on a sheet pan in case you have spillage......since I just cleaned my oven that's the last thing I wanted to chance!  LOL

bethk wrote:Today was 'Oven Cleaning Day' at my house.  DD#1 is coming to visit for a couple days the end of the month and I didn't want her to see my dirty oven (although I doubt we'll even be here at the house for any meals.....).  But it was time to clean it anyway ~ I hate when it starts to 'smoke' when it's on preheat......LOL  (NO, it wasn't THAT bad ~ but close!)

I had Dane pull the range out from the wall so it wasn't next to the cabinets.  When it's on self-clean cycle it gets so hot I don't want to take a chance of setting the kitchen on fire.  I set it to clean for 3 hours and had the racks pulled out before I started.  The greasy racks get put into a big plastic bag outside and I pour about 4 gallons of hot water over and add about a cup of ammonia and tie the bag shut and just let it sit in the sun to stay warm.  Within an hour it's cooled down enough to open (the fresh air makes it much easier to wipe the racks down) and then, wearing gloves, I just use a little scrubbie pad to wipe the gunk off.  Nice and shiny!  I do give them another quick rinse down in the sink with detergent to get the last bits of whatever off.....but there's no hard scrubbing to do.

The oven, however, is another story.  Even after the self clean it still has to be sprayed & rubbed to get the remnants of the hot cleaning off the door and sides.  The glass got a spritz of Krud Kutter and I just used a razor blade to easily scrape the bits off.  The door and sides had to be sprayed and rubbed down with the scrubbie pad and then rinsed a couple times.

I always have so much difficulty reaching the back of the oven with the door in the way ~ I'm not as limber as I used to be.  So, I looked up on line and found my range specifics and found how to remove the door!  Woo Hoo!  There are a couple clips on the hinges that flip up and then you (or in MY case, Dane) can just pull the door up and off.  I knew it was heavy so I didn't want to attempt it alone ~ that's why I keep HIM around when I'm doing some things around the house.

With the door removed it was easy to reach the back wall and all the way to the back edges to get all the dust and drips wiped down.

So now I'm especially happy we're going out to supper ~ I'm exhausted!

As soon as my lottery numbers are selected I'm going to hire someone to come and do this stuff for me!

(I won't hold my breath until THAT happens......)

bethk wrote:Dane stopped at the Farmer's Market when he took his sister to the doctor the other day.  He texted me to ask if I wanted anything....I said, "Just get anything that looks nice and fresh."  He ended up bringing some red beets and a nice head of Napa cabbage.

I was going to make a regular slaw and then I remembered I had half a package of ramen noodles in the pantry ~ so the Oriental Napa Slaw was on the menu for tonight.  The red beets had to be simmered for an hour ~ they were HUGE ~ and once I got them sliced up I realized one would have been more than enough.  But they reheat just fine for another meal so I'm fine with it.

Cookin Lore wrote:

What did you do with the beets?  I'm trying to learn to like them, just because they look good on a plate.  So far, it's not working. LOL

bethk wrote:

Cookin Lore wrote:

What did you do with the beets?  I'm trying to learn to like them, just because they look good on a plate.  So far, it's not working. LOL

The beets got a good scrub under running warm water (easier on my hands than cold water.....) and then I put them into a pot and covered them with water ~ simmered for a good hour because they were the size of softballs.  When fork tender I drained & added cold water to cool them down.  When cool enough to handle I just trimmed off the tops and bottoms and then wiped off the skins ~ easy but a bit messy.

Then I just sliced and julienned them ~ reheated with a tiny bit of water & some butter (with a lid to steam) and that was it.


But don't feel bad if you don't like them ~ my friend says they taste like dirt to her and nothing will change that for her ~ it's kind of like me with cilantro (Ewwwww!)


You might try to pickle them ~ 1/2 c. cider vinegar, 1/2 c. water, 1/2 c. white sugar, a bit of cinnamon stick, maybe one whole clove (no more) ~ bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar.  Pour hot brine over sliced/quartered/cubed cooked red beets and some raw onion.  Cover and allow to sit for at least a week in the refrigerator.  Then you have pickled beets to eat as pickles or to add to a salad.

If you reheat pickled beets and add a cornstarch slurry you have what used to be served as 'Harvard Beets' ~ my aunt loved them (me, not so much.....)

NormM wrote:I saw a recipe for Alfredo sauce that looked good. It used butter, cream and lots of Parmigiano with no thickeners.   I thought the cheese would thicken it but it didn't.  The pasta thickened it when i put the two together.  I served it with a chicken breast stuffed with crab.  I added some onions, celery and mushroom to the sauce.

bethk wrote:From Lore:


"Dinner Tonight. Lamb chops done perfectly using the air fry feature in my oven. 10 minutes at 325, rice medley and a sort of Greek salad. Cukes, tomatoes and a mix of peppers, olives, feta that is available here in the takeout section of the grocery store."

Cookin Lore wrote:

WOW, that was fast.  You must have been sitting there waiting for my picture!  Thanks AGAIN!