Month: June 2016

Crescent Roll Beerocks

I love beerocks. What’s not to love? But most often you get a wad of too much bread, with some too wet filling inside, that isn’t all that tasty. And then if you want to make them at home, you have to make bread, or at least get some frozen bread, and wait for it to thaw, and rise, and make the beerocks. And you have to make way too many, just to make it worthwhile, because you have all that bread. And now you have a whole afternoon invested and you’re still starving. Or maybe it’s just me.

Anyway, years ago I found this recipe that I think was from one of those Pillsbury bake-off contests, where you get some crappy prize for making something edible with one of their products. But this one’s a winner! OK, they’re definitely not on anyone’s healthy diet plan, and certainly not cheap to make, but they’re fast and easy and delicious. I mean, they’re made with crescent rolls, what could be better? Don’t they look yummy? You want some. You know you do. Listen to your bad self and make some crescent roll beerocks.

beerock dinner

Apparently Mom’s Not Cooking!

Welcome to life. Summertime is appraiser Hell on Earth. I’m lucky to have clean clothes to wear these days, let alone fix something great for dinner. But Mr. Man isn’t complaining. He’s busy fixing up the house and spending money faster than I can make it, so he’s more than willing to have me with my nose to the grindstone instead of in some cookbook. Besides, we’re both so fat we can afford to miss a few good meals.

These days he’s been cooking on occasion, for which I’m so grateful I don’t care what he fixes. Whatever it is, I’ll swear it’s the best thing ever even if I have to massage it down my throat. OK, seriously, he’s a pretty good cook as long as you like things grilled, or fried, preferably with gravy.

Or, sometime I throw something together that takes as little effort as possible. Survival Cooking 101. Yesterday it was roast in a crock pot. I’ve fixed roast every way you can think of, but I’m down to the absolute laziest way imaginable and frankly, they all taste about the same. So I figure, why work any harder than I have to?

Somebody asked me if I have any crock pot recipes the other day. So, here’s how I fix crock pot roast when cooking just isn’t a priority.

 

Cheesecake

basic cheesecake

Last night’s dinner was a success. Our guests went home porked to the gills and we didn’t have to order pizza. Merl’s brisket was fork tender. I tried suggesting some manly big time outdoor grilling become a Sunday ritual, but he’s not buying what I’m selling. It was worth a shot.

The cheesecake I made for dessert came out just like it’s supposed to, no gaping wound. So, I’ll get that recipe posted this morning before I begin another boring and stressful work day which could stretch through the entire week. I just never know.

But first, here’s a nice basic cheesecake for Danelle and whoever else needs it. Enjoy!

 

Company’s Coming!

Guests for dinner tonight. Merl had a hankerin’ to smoke some brisket and I’m not going to stand in his way. He patted it down with our favorite rub, and plans to cook it for ten hours, low & slow. If it’s not great, it’ll be a tragedy and we’ll be ordering pizza for our guests. You never know, could happen.

I’m making some pilaf and roasted asparagus to go with that, plus a salad and some french bread broiled with butter, garlic, and Parmesan cheese on top. Can’t go wrong with that….I hope!

And then there’s dessert. I’ve had a request for a cheesecake recipe. I make several different types of cheesecake because like ice cream, it’s all good in my book. But tonight I have a cheesecake purist coming for dinner. He likes his straight up, no frills, no toppings, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I also have a family member that can’t eat gluten. So I figure I’ll start with this basic cheesecake recipe that has a gluten free filling. (Most of my recipes call for a small amount of flour.) I use regular graham crackers for the crust, but you can buy gluten free graham cracker crumbs if gluten is your kryptonite.

So, cheesecake’s in the oven. Brisket is on the grill. The yard smells like a forest fire. And the dog is looking hopeful. If all goes well, I’ll post asparagus and cheesecake recipes tomorrow. If not I’ll post a photo of an empty pizza box!

 

The Big Birthday Dinner

I did it. Bit the bullet and cooked “The Big Birthday Dinner” for Merl’s big day. Well, birthdays really aren’t all that exciting when you get past a certain point. I don’t remember where that point is, because we passed it soooo long ago. But, we try and drum up a little enthusiasm anyway because having another birthday is better than the alternative, and if nothing else it’s an excuse to pig out.

You always have to consider your audience, so I made this dinner heavy on the meat and starch. The only thing that would have made him happier would have been gravy, but I couldn’t figure out how to work it in there. There’s always next year.

Merl loves him some pork ribs, so I we had some of those. Future daughter-in-law doesn’t like pork, so I cooked a couple game hens in the old Showtime Rotisserie oven. That way Merl didn’t have to spend much time at the grill, and both my ovens were otherwise occupied, and I was already at my multi-tasking limit.

He loves baked beans, so we had those. Others would rather have potatoes, so we also had some hasselback potatoes too. Thought I had green beans but didn’t, so we had corn on the cob and some broccoli, just so there would be an actual veggie in there somewhere. We did have salad with creamy cilantro dressing, which is kind of like a Pollo Loco salad. AND, I made some Parmesan rolls from scratch. Then we topped that all off with some chocolate waffles for dessert. Whew! I don’t think I should have to cook for at least a week after all that. I may never get the kitchen clean again.

I’ve already posted my rib recipe and the recipe for my favorite dry rub, which I used on the game hens. Corn I just boil for ten minutes, then brush the ears with butter and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Broccoli gets steamed, then topped with butter and seasoned salt. No magic there. But I’ll give you recipes for baked beans, hasselback potatoes, parmesan loaves, creamy cilantro dressing, and chocolate waffles.

Enjoy! I’m taking a nap!!!