My New Toy and Zucchini Relish

With my Coke rewards points I bought this hot dog cooker. It is so cool. It cooks hotdogs, sausages, etc, by rolling it on rollers like the hot dog stands and 7-11 does. The hotdogs taste just the same as those in the stores and restaurants. My kids love them!

So we have been having hotdogs a bit more often this past week. I think we have used it three times in a week. It is so easy and so yummy.

Tonight we had hotdogs, corn on the cob, baked beans, and cole slaw. We used my homemade relish on the dogs too. It is super yum.

Here is the recipe for the relish. I adapted it from a friend of mine.

Zucchini Relish
8 cups of sliced zucchini

2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced bell peppers
1 40z jar pimentos, drained
4 cups of vinegar
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup salt
2 TB mustard seed and celery seed

Put the zucchini, onions, bell pepper, pimentos into a bowl. Pour 1/4 cup salt on them and cover with ice water.

Let sit for 2 hours, then drain.

Put vinegar, sugar, mustard seed and celery seed and let come to boil. Add squash mixture and return to a boil. Let boil for 3 minutes.

Put in a food processor and mince until little chunks but not mush.

Pour into hot jars and flip the jars upside down for at least 10 minutes. Then return to the upright position. If after a few minutes the tops have not sealed then you will need to process them in boiling water bath for 10-15 minutes.

The relish is delish on crackers, hot dogs or with pork.

Whitney's Not Cooking Right Now.

Whitney isn't cooking right now. We had tacos out tonight. Last night we were at my grandfather's house and we got KFC. Saturday night I went out with two friends from college. (Bertucci's). Friday night, we had hot dogs at home.

I do have a funny story though. Tonight I was cleaning patty pan and my husband and I were cutting them up to freeze. He said the skins were a little tough and at first we thought it was because they were a couple days old from picking. But then I realized that they had crossed with the pumpkins in the garden and we had "pumpkin squash". This has happened before a year ago. My husband likes to grow pumpkins and he plants them near the squash. Last year it was the summer squash (yellow crookneck). They were yellow orange in color, big seeds inside, and a pumpkin smell to them. Some were bumpy. These patty pan squash had no outward appearance that would clue you in but the skins were very tough and the seeds were large and some had that trademark pumpkin smell. We tossed them all in the trash!

Note to self, next year don't plant pumpkins with the squash at all. We will buy our pumpkins from the local berry farm!

It's a "Backwards Night" tonight

It's a Backwards Night tonight. That means we are having breakfast food for dinner. I have spoiled my kids early on and added chocolate chips to pancake mix for chocolate chip pancakes. They don't like plain pancakes anymore and there are times when they ask for M&M pancakes too. The mini M&Ms work best!!

Whitney's Pancake Mix - with chocolate chips!!

1 cup all purpose flour
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 TBS vegetable oil
chocolate chips

Mix all dry ingredients together in medium mixing bowl, except for chocolate chips. Then add the wet ingredients and mix until batter is mixed but still lumpy. Let sit for 5 minutes and ladle about 2 tablespoons of batter onto a preheated cast iron skillet, greased, and medium heat. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top of each pancake while they are cooking on the first side. Wait until they bubble on top and a few bubbles pop, then flip and cook for about 2-3 minutes on second side. You should see little puffs of steam coming out from the sides when the second side is done.

Top with butter and syrup and serve with love!

Sometimes we play "restaurant" in our house with the kids. I am the cook, my husband is the waiter, and the kids are the diners. My husband takes their order, pancakes, bacon, and their drinks and they are served when the food is done. It is great for practicing ordering and manners!

An Easy Dessert - Brownies a la Mode

One of my family's favorite desserts is Brownies a la Mode.

Just as dinner is coming together I preheat the oven and make a quick batch of brownies (yes from the box). I throw it in the oven and it bakes while we eat. If I time it right the brownies come out of the oven just as we are finishing dinner and they cool while we clean up the dishes. When the dishes are in the dishwasher the brownies are still warm but not hot. We slice them with a plastic knife (because they don't stick to plastic) and I place a brownie in the bowl and scoop ice cream on top. Because the brownies are still warm the ice cream begins to melt and get all gooie! We eat them right away.

These taste like the brownie desserts you get from a restaurant and they are quite a treat! For left overs, put the brownie in a bowl and microwave it for 20-30 seconds and then top with ice cream. You can get the same effect all over again!!!

It is easy to plan for a great dessert if you have a few things handy all the time. I always have on hand a brownie mix, a yellow cake mix, ice cream (of any flavor), and a can of fruit. When fixing dinner just take an extra minute to think about dessert and your family will feel special.

Chicken Kiev

I am thinking about this delectable dish for tonight's dinner.

This is how I will make it.

3 boneless chicken breasts
3 TBS butter softened
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp parsley
Italian Bread Crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 TBS vegetable oil

Pound the chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap.
mix the butter, garlic powder, parsley, and salt and pepper together and place in freezer to harden. When the butter has hardened, place a TBS in the center of the pounded chicken breast and roll it up. Stick a toothpick in the chicken to keep it rolled up.
Coat in eggs and cover in bread crumbs.
Fry in a pan on medium high heat in vegetable oil until done (about 5-7 minutes) turning once or twice.

I will serve this with fresh squash and onions, sauted, corn on the cob and rice. Yum.

What are you cooking? Share a recipe with me!!

Rice Krispies Treats

Today, we made Rice Krispies Treats, Caroline and I did. This is something that is easy and my 5 year old help.

Rice Krispies Treats (recipe from the box)

3 TBS butter or margarine

10 oz marshmallows

6 cups Rice Krispies

1. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan on low heat.

2. Add the marshmallows and and continue to melt until the marshmallows and the butter are smooth.

3. Add the Rice Krispies and mix until all are coated.

4. Dump into a 9x13x2 greased casserole dish (grease with Pam Cooking Spray). Press with a spatula or wax paper until the mixture is flat.

5. Let cool completely and cut with a plastic knife (it doesn't stick).

Sometimes we press chocolate chips, m+m's, or sprinkles on top. For other variation, add a few drops of food coloring to the melted marshmallows and they become festive for Christmas, Halloween, or Easter.

The Waffle Sandwich

I don't really remember when this food luxury was created or by whom, but in our family we have what we call a "waffle sandwich". It consists of two store-bought frozen waffles, toasted, butter and powdered sugar. You toast the waffles and then when the come out of the toaster oven piping hot you spread butter on both waffles then put powdered sugar on one and put the other waffle on top (butter side in). Voila! A waffle sandwich. folded in a paper towel you can take these treasures on the go. I start out many a morning with the waffle sandwich and my cup of coffee on the way to work. It is not at all healthy but it does give you a bit of a sugar rush and along with the coffee you are well on your way to a drug induced buzz by the time you hit the office, or in my case the classroom.

No wonder my first period students think I am a bit of a nut...

Try it sometime!