Onion Straws

Ok, a lot of you have been asking for this recipe! So here it is.

2 C flour
2 T Cayenne Pepper
2 T season Salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 gallon Butter Milk
2 - 3 Large Onions
1 Large bottle of Vegetable Oil

Get a super sharp knife and slice the onions very thin! Once sliced, un-ring them and place into the buttermilk. Let the onions sit in the buttermilk, in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more.

Once you are ready to cook the onions, put the oil in a large stock pot. Fill it about 1/3 of the way up. Put on high at first and then once your drop your first batch of onions in, back down to between 6 and 7 on your dial. Also make sure you have a plate covered with a paper towel to catch oil drippings.

Mix together flour and seasonings in a large bowl. Take a small bunch of onions out of buttermilk and drop in flour mixture. Make sure they are covered well with flour mixture and then gently place in hot oil. Let cook until they are a nice golden brown. Don't have an exact time because each oven is different. Once they are golden brown, pull out of oil with tongs and place on plate with paper towel to drip. Repeat the process until all onions are done. Enjoy my friend.

Mini, portable not so sloppy joes!

Ok, have I gotten your attention with that? Hee Hee Well if you read the Mini chicken pot pie recipe, you already have the idea for this one as well.

1 lb ground beef
1 can manwhich or what ever you use to make sloppy joes
2 - 3 cans Grands (or any large biscuit)

Preheat oven to what ever it says on your biscuit package. Make your sloppy joes. Take a biscuit and smash it out to make the thinnest and largest circle you can. Put a dollop of sloppy joe in the middle and close it up. Pinch off as best you can. If you are really seeping or can't seem to get it closed, you have to much in there. Take some out and start again! Once you get it closed, put it closed off side down in a muffin pan sprayed with cooking spray! Once the pan is full, cook according to package directions adding 5 - 8 more min. to get it completely cooked. Just keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Each oven is different, so you should be able to tell when they are cooked. Nice and golden brown on top and not mushy biscuit! Serve! Again, I try and serve with apple sauce or salad or any type of vegetables!
Enjoy my friend!
Kathy!

Mini, portable, super yummy chicken pot pies!

Ok, so your gonna love this! My kids think these are the best ever! They are so simple and easy and I have to admit, these are a Kathy Heier original recipe! Are my other recipes original, yes. Just like any other recipe, there is always a base to a recipe, it's just how we as individuals, tweek it! So, here it is.

1 Large can chunk chicken! (If I have the time, I will cook a chicken breast and cut it up!)
1 can Cream of Potato Soup
1/2 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Mixed Vegetables (you can make this anything you want ** see below)
2 - 3 can GRANDS biscuits! You have to have the large biscuits or it wont work. They don't have to be "Grands", just make sure they are big.

Preheat oven to what ever time it tells you on the biscuit package. When you cook these, you will need to cook them for about 5 - 8 min. longer than the package directions to make sure the inside with the mixture gets totally cooked.
In a large bowl, mix first 4 ingredients. Take your biscuits and start to smash them out into the largest, flattest circles you can. When done, spoon a little bit of the mixture into the middle of one of the circles. Close the biscuit up as best you can, trying to pinch off anywhere you can. If it's seeping out goo, then you've put to much into it! Once you have it pinched off, you need to put it PINCHED SIDE DOWN in a muffin pan sprayed with cooking spray! Once the pan is full, you can cook it! When you are done, you can serve them. I tend to serve them with a salad or some apple sauce. They also refrigerate REALLY well and make great snacks for the kids the next day! My son will eat them non-stop until they are gone! =)
Enjoy my friend!
Kathy!

Beef Stroganoff

This is yummy, quick, easy and I'm sure will become a favorite in your home.

1lb Ground beef
2 - 3 cloves of Garlic (or 1 big spoon full of minced from a jar) I prefer fresh!
1/2 a medium onion minced
1 bag No Yolk egg noodles
1 Lg. Can Cream of Mushroom soup
(Little bit of milk)
2 - 3 heaping spoon fulls of sour cream

In a large, deep skillet, cook the ground beef, garlic and onion until meat is fully cooked. At same time, make sure to cook the noodles according to package directions.
When meat is finished, drain off any grease and place meat mixture back into skillet. Add cream of mushroom soup to mixture. Add just a little bit of milk at a time to make it more of a "sauce" consistency. Then add your cooked noodles and mix well. When done, add sour cream and gently mix together. Serve!
I usually serve this meal with green beans and a biscuit. It's a little starchy, but it's goon on those cold evenings!
Enjoy my friend!
Kathy!

Honey Cinnamon Butter

This is great for any type of bread, but we love it on a fresh, home made loaf.

1 16 oz tub of butter
1 C powdered sugar
1 T cinnamon
1/2 to 3/4 C Honey

Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least an hour. This will give all the flavors time to merge together.
Enjoy my friend.
Kathy!

Parmesan Garlic Steak Fries

Get some nice steak fries from the grocery. Get some garlic powder and some fresh Parmesan cheese. Place the fries on a baking sheet. Cover lightly with the garlic powder. Cook for half of the required time. Pull out and add the Parmesan cheese. Cook the rest of the required time and serve. They make a wonderful side dish to any meal.
Enjoy my friend,
Kathy!

Herb Pork Chops

These are so simple and easy to do. All you need are some good pork chops. Those of you who know me know that I prefer a boneless pork loin chop. About 1/2 C of Olive Oil, 1 T of Rosemary and 1 T of Thyme. Put all ingredients in a zip lock bag. Let marinate for at least 2 hours.
Cook on the grill until done and serve. I like to serve some carrots with this along with maybe a good seasoned potato or even some garlic Parmesan steak fries. I make my own steak fries. They are so easy and sooooo good. Well, hope you like this.
Enjoy my friend,
Kathy!

Fruit covered Cheese Cake

2 Packages of no bake cheese cake
1 tub of whipped cream
1 pkg. of blueberries, cleaned and dried
1 pkg. strawberries, cleaned and sliced in half
1 clump of purple grapes, cleaned and dried

Make no back cheesecakes according to pkg. directions and put into a 9X13 pan. Keep chilled until almost ready to serve. When you are ready to serve, top with whipped cream and then with fruit. Serve immediately.

* Note: I usually get the fruit ready ahead of time so I can get it on top quickly before serving.
Enjoy my friend!
Kathy!

Easy Shepherds Pie

Ok, I have had 2 friends e-mail me and ask me for this recipe. It's so simple. I know it's more of a "winter" type meal, but they asked.

1 lb ground chuck
1/2 an onion chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables (thawed)*
8 slices of american cheese
2 pouches of instant creamy butter (or butter and herb) mashed potatoes
1 C Mozzarella Cheese

Heat oven to 350. In a large skillet cook meat, onion and garlic until done. Drain off fat. Add both cans of cream of mushroom soup and about 3/4 to 1 can filled with milk. Mix well and keep heating until nice and hot.
Empty pan into a 9X13 pan and spread across bottom. Add vegetables. Put cheese slices over vegetables. Prepare mashed potatoes according to package directions and spread over top of cheese. Put in oven and cook for 20 min. Pull out and add Mozzarella cheese on top and put back in oven for 10 min.
Pull out of oven and serve! I serve mine with crescent rolls.
*If your kids are picky about vegetables, use what ever kind they like or will eat. For example, mine like corn carrots and green beans. So I use small bags of each and use about 1/2 of each bag.
Enjoy my friend,
Kathy!

Chicken Fajitas

These are fairly simple to make and very tasty. I'm going to start with cooking the chicken. There are 2 ways that I like to do the chicken depending on the time of year. Grilling is what I do when I can, but in the winter I almost stir fry my chicken but I do it in a grill pan.

Grilling - I take my chicken breasts and put them in a plastic ziplock bag. Then I take some taco seasoning and mix it with double the water that is called for on the package. I put that mixture in the bag as well and let it sit about 30 min. Then I put them on the grill and cook them. Once they are cooked, I bring them in and slice the chicken into thin strips.

Stir fry - Ok, it's snowing outside and I'm not about to grill. So here is what I do. I go ahead and cut the chicken up into the thin strips. Then I place the strips into a grill pan. I just went to wal-mart and purchased mine. I let the chicken cook in the grill pan until it's done. I make sure to move it around the grill pan a lot so that it cooks quickly, evenly and keeps the juices inside. When it's done I add the taco seasoning to it. I don't use fajita seasoning just because I don't care for the way it tastes. You can use what you want.

Ok, so now you know how I cook the chicken depending on the time of year. Here is what I do for the rest of it.

I slice onions, green pepper and a red pepper in long thin strips. For the onions, just cut in half and then cut into 1/4 inch pieces. I put them in the stir fry pan with a little bit of butter or margarine. I don't use olive oil because I prefer the buttery taste with the vegetables. I add just a smidgen of salt and pepper for flavor and even a little bit of garlic powder. I cook the vegetables together in the pan until the are almost done. If you like the less done or more done, that is fine. It's really up to you and how you like them.

To serve them I heat up a tortilla, put in some chicken, veggies, shredded cheddar cheese, tiny pit of medium taco sauce (not salsa) and then top with sour cream. I either serve refried beans or Mexican rice with my fajitas. I also make my own Mexican rice. It's quite easy and tastey. Look below for directions.

Mexican rice. Take 2 C min. rice and put in a pan. Instead of water I add V8 juice. Cook it the normal way. When it's done, I add about 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine, pepper, and a drained can of rotel tomatoes. I cook it just a little bit longer to make sure everything is nice and warm. Serve. (Side note: The rice alone with the V8 juice, butter and pepper is good all by itself!)
Anyway, there you have it. Enjoy my friends.
Kathy!

Mexican Pasta Skillet

This is a yummy, filling and fast dish to make. It's also VERY yummy. Before I start I will tell you, it calls for Chicken. I will either take chicken breast and cut it up into bite size pieces or I have used canned chicken in a hurry. Either way it's still very yummy! So here we go.

Either use 1 pound of Boneless Skinless Chicken breast or 2 large cans of chunk chicken.
1 box spiral pasta
1 16oz jar of your favorite salsa (usually I buy mild, but the medium gives this a little kick)
1 can or small bag of corn (optional)
1 bar of cream cheese
1 Package of taco seasoning
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese

Boil your pasta. While it's cooking you need to cook the chicken. If you use chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces and then cook in a large skillet with a little bit of olive oil until done. Then add your taco seasoning. If you use the can chicken, stick it in the skillet and heat until warm and then add seasoning.
Add in corn, salsa and half of the shredded cheese. Stir it until the cheese is melted. Then cut the cream cheese into chunks and stir it in until it's melted. Once it's all good and melty, add the pasta. Stir it up well and then serve.
I like to serve mine with refried beans and nacho chips.

To cook my refried beans, I put 1/2 a stick of butter in a pan with half a sweet onion chopped up. I let it cook until the onions are just starting to turn brown. Then I add the refried beans. Stir them until they are good and warm. Then I had a hand full of shredded cheese and serve.
I hope you like this recipe. Enjoy my friend.
Kathy!

Grilled Stuff Pork Chops

Hello all. This is very simple and easy and I'm sure your family will love it as does mine. I take a rather thick pork chop...again using the pork from the pork loin and make a little pocket in it. I make some stove top stuffing and insert it into the pork chop. Now, since we are going to be grilling it, you really need to close it GOOD with toothpicks. You will need a lot of them. Close it off and then I season with a garlic pepper and zesty season salt. Then I throw them on the grill. Cook them about 5 - 8 min on each side. You don't want to turn them a whole lots just do to the fact that you don't want your stuffing to fall out. When they are done, bring them in the house, pull out the toothpicks and serve. I served mine with skewers of summer veggies. It was really good. Enjoy my friend.
Kathy!

Stir Fry Pork

Sorry it's been a while since I have written. Have been doing a lot of cooking, but have kind of been busy. You know how summer is. Well, the other night I made a stir fry and some fried rice that was pretty outstanding. It's fairly simple and has a ton of flavor. You know how I am about flavor. Gotta have it. So here it is.

I started with about 4 pork loin chops. What I do is going to the store and buy a huge pork loin when it's on sale and have it cut into inch thick chops.

Then I made my seasoning. 1 Cup of brown sugar, enough soy to make it the consistency of VERY think ketchup, 2 T vinegar, 1 clove of garlic minced pepper and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger. I mix it all together and let it sit for about 20 min. While that is sitting, I start to cut up my pork into bite size pieces. I put the pork in a stir fry skillet, stir my sauce and pour the sauce over the pork and let it sit. While it's sitting, I cut up 1 onion, 1 green pepper and slice some mushrooms into bite size pieces. Once it's cut up, I start cooking the pork. I don't have a time for how long I cook it. I just take on of the pieces of meat and cut it open an check it after about 5 min. Since the pieces are so small it doesn't take much time to cook. Once it's cooked, I turn the burner down to med. and add the vegetables and a can of chunk pineapple (drained). I keep cooking until the vegetables are to my liking in doneness. I serve it over rice and with an eggroll.
For the Fried rice, I just cooked my rice (2 Cups worth). Then put it in a pan with a little oil, added some peas and carrots (that were frozen and then thawed) and 3 T of soy and 3 eggs (beaten). Just kept mixing it until the eggs were cooked. NOW, I will tell you this made the rice bind more than anything. If I were to do it again, I think I would cook the egg first in a small pan and then add it to the rice. You really couldn't tell there was egg even in it. I might back it off to 2 eggs if I pre cook them. It's up to you really. My son LOVES eggs, so it's a good way for me to get him to eat the rice. Well, enjoy my friend.
Kathy!

Haven't done much cooking lately. Don't get me wrong, I've been cooking, but nothing special. Just kind of the same things because we have been so busy. However, I made a side dish the other night that turned out so well and I thought I would tell you about it.

I cup up in to bite size pieces, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 small onion, 1 cucumber, 1 small tomato. I put in about 1 T of olive oil, a sprinkle of Italian seasoning some garlic powder and then about 1 T of raspberry walnut vinaigrette. Cooked it over med. heat until they were just done with a little crunch left in them. Served them up with the grilled BBQ pork chops and it was yummy! I was amazed at how the dressing gave just that hint of flavor that didn't put it over the edge, but made it just that much better.
Enjoy my friend,
Kathy!

Breakfast Anyone - Try this.

Ok, so in this house we like to have an old favorite that was created at the Fire Dept. by one of our good friends Chad Hittle. It was a breakfast dish that consisted of eggs, cheese, and anything that was left over from dinner the night before and what ever else they could find to throw in. So it got the name "Sewer Lid". We still call it sewer lid in our house, but it's made with eggs, cheese, potatoes, sausage, green pepper and onion. Here is how we do it.

I cook the country potatoes at the same time (in different pans) that I cook the sausage. When they are both done, I put them into one pan. At this time I start a small skillet with chopped green pepper and a little bit of butter. I add about 1 dozen eggs to this and cook it until the eggs are done. Then I add a VERY generous handful of shredded cheddar cheese. Mix it well. When that is done, I plop some on a plate and top with the green pepper and onion mix. I love to eat it just like that. My husband likes to put ketchup on it. My son likes to put it between toast and have a sandwich. However you want to do it, it's all good.
Enjoy my friend,
Kathy!

Home Made Pizza...Ummmmmm

Hello. Made my pizza tonight. Oh how yummy it was. Very simple and took no time at all.

I start by getting a cheese pizza kit at the store. There is a certain kind that we, as a family, really like. I use the crust mix, sauce and that is it. Here is where it gets interesting.

I start by following the package directions on making the dough. Then I let it sit while I get my stones ready. To prepare the stones I melt some butter (or margarine) in a small bowl with some finely minced garlic. I take the garlic butter and brush the stones with it. It will add flavour like you've never had. I would say, 1 clove of garlic to one stick of butter. Once you have the stones OR pans brushed well with the butter mixture, go ahead and divide your dough between pans. Before I start to push the dough into the pans, I like to spray my hands with a non-stick spray made with olive oil! Again, it will just add flavor. Then I fit the dough to the pans. When the dough has been spread out, put it in the oven for 8 or 9 min. to pre-cook. I do this because if you put your toppings on this raw pizza dough it will take such a long time to cook and you run the risk of burning your pizza and making the crust chewey and tough. While it's cooking, you can get your other ingredients ready. Here is what I do.

I cut up some onion and green pepper and put it in a small skillet with some olive oil. About 1/2 Tbsp.of olive oil and cook it till it's not quite done. I like it to have a little crunch. Once it's done to your liking, put it in a bowl and set it aside. Next I cook 1/2 lb ground chuck with 1/2lb of Italian sausage. By the time you get all this cooked, your crusts should be done. Pull your crusts out of the oven and set aside. Next you need to put on your sauce. I just use what came in the pizza kit. If there is another sauce out there you like please feel free to use it. 1 HINT with pizza kits - go name brand. This is one of those things you can't skimp on. Believe me, I have tried. Anyway, I spread out my sauce between my 2 pans and make sure it's covered almost all the pizza. Next I add the meat mixture, green pepper and onion mixture and then I add some mushrooms. Next I add pepperoni and then top with a mozzarella cheese blend that I found. It has provolone, Parmesan, mozzarella etc. in it. Then I put it in the oven until the cheese is a golden brown and bubbly. I do not time it. I do not time it according to package directions. Everyones oven is different and so are the pans you cook it in. This is something folks that you need to watch. Once it's a beautiful golden color, I pull it out and serve it up! The crust will be crunchy on the bottom and soft on the inside. It's perfect. I know you will LOVE it.

Now as far as toppings go, you can add what you want. This is what my family likes. Sometimes in the summer I will add slices of fresh tomato and maybe some artichoke hearts. The sky is the limit.
Enjoy my friend,
Kathy!

Oops

Well, last night was interesting. We decided to go watch the son of a very good friend play his tournament ball game! So...I never got around to making my home made pizza. We went out for dinner instead. Guess what we are having for dinner tonight? Yep, you guessed it. Home made pizza! I can't wait. Thinking about it just makes my mouth water. Yummy! I will blog either tonight or tomorrow morning to tell you exactly how I make my pizza. I've been told by several people it's the best they have ever tasted. I have taken ideas from several different people and restaurants and I think I have come up with something that rocks. If you like crust that is crunchy on the bottom, yet perfectly soft in the middle with TONS of toppings, this one is going to be for you!

Talk to you later tonight,
Enjoy my friend.
Kathy!

BBQ Chicken with Veggie Skewers

My son had an important ball game last night and I wanted to make him something that he would want, eat and help give him energy! BBQ chicken is what he wanted. Of course, he didn't touch the vegetables, but he did eat the tator tots I fixed for him.

BBQ chicken. Easy right? There are so many different ways to do it. I have tried so many. I have read books, watched shows and went on line. Just never got the flavor that I wanted out of it. So I decided to take matters into my own hands last night and just do it the way I always thought would be good.

So I started with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I lightly seasoned both sides with season salt and ground pepper. I took them out to the grill and put them on it. I let it cook on one side for about 2 min. and then I turned it over. I basted the cooked side with BBQ sauce. Same thing on the other side. Let it cook about 2 min. and then turned it and basted with BBQ sauce. Now there are people out there that are totally against turning your grilled food very much. I like to turn it. I think it helps keep it from getting to done to fast. Think about it, rotisserie chicken turns all the time and it's sooooo juicy! Anyhoo, I kept turning it a lot. Every time I turned the chicken I basted it. Again, I used my favorite BBQ sauce and you can use yours. I just kept doing that until I thought the chicken was done. Do I have a time? No! I had 3 different size breasts and I knew they wouldn't cook at the same time. Once I thought they were done, I cut into the largest to see if it was done. Not a huge cut, but enough to see that it was done and juicy! Now, I'm not done yet! I basted it one last time, let it sit for about 45 seconds on a very hot part of the grill and then turned, basted and let it sit for 45 second. Took them off and brought them in. They were great and had TONS of flavour. Everyone liked them a lot. Even the grill master a.k.a my husband. Now about these Vegetable skewers.

I love grilled vegetables! I have to admit, onion is my favorite next to yellow, summer squash. I took my little bamboo skewers and soaked them for about 30min. While they were soaking I cut up a sweet yellow onion, green pepper, red pepper, zucchini and of course, summer squash. Alternating them, I put them on the skewers. I put them on the grill about 5 min. after I started the chicken. I like them done, but not burnt! Once I set them on the grill, I lightly basted them ONLY ONCE with a raspberry walnut balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Just gave those veggies a little UMPH! They were juicy as well. The smell was so wonderful! When I served the chicken, I pulled the veggies off the skewers and put them on the plate next to the chicken. The red of the BBQ sauce mixed with the colors of the veggies was so pretty.

I hope you enjoy this and will try it sometime. You will have to let me know what you think if you do. Enjoy my friend.
Kathy!

Pork Butt Anyone?

This is very simple and easy. It makes for a great meal and there will be pleanty for leftovers. My son LOVES pulled pork BBQ. So I went out and got a pork butt. Now, for those of you who are going YIKES, pork butt is actually a shoulder, not the butt! So don't freak out! Here is how I cook mine. CROCK POT! However I do some good things to it first. First I peel several cloves of garlic. How many, that is up to you and how much you like garlic. I use about 8 cloves. I make several large, deep cuts into my pork and shove a garlic clove down in it. Once I get all the garlic into it, I lightly season it all over with season salt, ground pepper, paprika, garlic powder and sometimes a little cayanne pepper. Stick that puppy in the crock pot (with about an inch of water) and let her cook all day! The smell in your house will be fantastic! I let mine cook for about 8 hours. You will have to decide according to how your crock pot cooks. You can tell your pork is done when you insert a fork and it just falls apart.
Now, here comes the fun part. Pull your pork out of your crock pot and put it on a plate or something. If it has a bone in it, try and pull it out. It should just come right now with no problem. You will need to drain some of the juice. You need to leave about 1 inch of juice in the bottom of the pot or it will turn out dry. Put your pork back in the pot and start to shred it. There will more than likely be some fat pieces and this is a good opportunity to get them out. Once you have it shredded you can add your favorite BBQ sauce. I like OpenPit Original or Budweiser BBQ. They are both really good. I'm sure you have your favorite and it's fine! I let it sit in the crock pot for at least another 10 min. on low before I serve it. It will seem really kind of wet and maybe even runny. It's ok. The next day it will be a little dry and you will need that wetness. So, to reheat it, all I do is put it in the microwave or pot on the stove and heat it up just the way it is. When it's good and hot, I may add just a smidge more BBQ sauce to it. It's up to you. It will still have wonderful flavor. Serve what ever sides with it you want. A friend made this recipe the other night and she had a broccoli coleslaw with it. I usually do my home made potatoe salad. What ever you want, I'm sure will help to rock this out of the park!
Enjoy my friend!
Kathy!

Last nights dinner was another hit. Very simple! Mexican Chicken and Pasta Skillet.

First thing I did was cook my spiral pasta. Cooked it according to the directions on the package. While I was cooking that I got the rest prepared. Now, normally I would have used grilled or baked chicken, but last night I was in a hurry. For my chicken I used premium white chicken in a pouch. Put it in a skillet and heated it up. Once it was good and hot, I added a 16 oz jar of salsa, a can of corn a block of cream cheese (cut up) and 2 T of taco seasoning. I mixed it all together really well. Keep mixing until the cream cheese is melted. Once it's melted, add the pasta and a good handful of shredded cheddar cheese. Mix it up really well until the cheese is melted and it's heated through. I served it with some refried beans and tortilla chips.

Just for some added fun, here is how I do my refried beans. I put about 3 T of butter in a pan with some chopped up onion. Once the onion is golden, I add a small can of mild green chilli and the refried beans. Mix well and let heat up. Once they are good and hot I had about 1/2 a bag of shredded cheddar cheese. Mix it in until it's all melted and serve. I know, I know, it's full of fat, but I think it's ok to have once in a while in moderation.

Well, I hope you enjoy these recipes. They really are easy. Still am unsure what I want for dinner tonight. Chicken or steak on the grill. Hummmmmm
Enjoy my friend,
Kathy!

Well, we had kabobs tonight for dinner. They were soooooooo good. Very simple. Cut up our steak and chicken. Put the meat in different bowls. Let them marinate in Light italian dressing for about 4 hours. Cut up green pepper, yellow pepper, yellow squash, zuchinni, purple onion and mushrooms. Put them all together and grilled them. Oh ya, I save a little of the dressing in the bottle to baste them with about 5 min. before they were done cooking. Served them up with red potatoes chopped with the skin on. Boiled them in water until they were almost cooked. Drained the water and then added some butter and fresh parsley to the potatoes. Made a wonderful side dish. Very simple. Have to make a shout out to Carry and Amber next door. I ran outof skewers and they gave us theirs. Thanks girls!
Enjoy my friend,
Kathy!

Black & Blue Burgers with Onion Strings

Hello all. Dinner last night was a HUGE hit with the entire family. That almost NEVER happens. Wasn't anything to fancy, burgers and onion strings. Here is how I started.
2 pounds of ground sirloin, 1/2 C plain bread crumbs and 2 eggs. I mixed it all together and made my hamburger patties. I made them about 1 1/2" thick. Put season salt and ground black pepper on the and stuck them on the grill. I know most people put them on there and let them cook on one side and then on the other for a certain amount of time. I don't do that. I have to admit, I'm a flipper. I always make 1 burger that I can cut open and check to see if it's done. Took about 10 min. When I was done with the burgers, I put them on a bun, with some blue cheese, bacon (microwave kind) and then my home made onion straws. They were yummy.

The onion straws. I took 2 large yellow onions and one of my really good knifes and sliced them very thin. Then I took those slices and let them soak in buttermilk for an hour and a half. Then I made a mixture of 2 C flour, 1 T season Salt, 1 T black pepper and 2 T Cayenne pepper. I mixed it together really well. I use a large stock pot for heating up my oil. I don't have a thermometer, so I just put my stove top on 7 and let it heat. When I thought it was hot, I dropped in a spot of the butter milk and it started to sizzle a little bit and I knew it was ready. Took a small bunch of onions out of the buttermilk and coated them in the flour mixture. Then I dropped them into the oil. Cooked them until they were a golden color. Pulled them out of the oil and let them dry on a plate covered with napkins. They were so tasty. Loved the little kick the cayenne gave them. It's funny because my son will NOT eat onions. He will eat the breading off onion rings, but never the onion. Well, last night he ate the whole thing. I was so happy! Dinner was a HUGE hit here in the Heier house!
What am I going to do for dinner tonight? NOTHING! The family is taking me out for dinner for my birthday! Couldn't go last night, so we are doing it tonight. Cant wait. What is up for dinner this weekend? Dunno. I love to go through cook books and look at different things and then make it my own. I hope you enjoyed this and can try one of these recipes some day! Enjoy my friend!
Kathy!

Easy Quick and Tasty Spaghetti

We had so much going on last night, so I needed to cook something quick for our dinner. I went to the store to see what I could find. This is what I got.

2 small zuchinni
1 orange pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow onion
1 packageof mushrooms
spaghetti
sauce
1/2 pound of itallian sausage
1/2 pound of ground chuck

I started by cutting up the vegetables into bite size peices. I love some chunks in my sauce. I put them into a large stir-fry pan. Then I threw in the 2 meats. I cooked it all together until the meat was cooked well. I drained the little bit of fat there was off of the meat. Then I added some thinly sliced garlic, garlic powder, rosemary, tyme and itallian seasoning. I let it simmer on low for almost an hour just due to the fact that my husband got home late from work.
I cooked the spaghetti and made some garlic bread. Garlic bread is so easy. Since it's going to be toasted in the oven, I always look for french bread that is on sale. I got a HUGE loaf for $.88. I melted some butter with some minced garlic. Sliced the bread and then brushed the butter on the slices - both sides. Then I put some provolone, motazarella and parmesan cheese on it and stuck it in the oven until it was golden and then bread was toasted good. Served it all up and I had a happy family. Do my kids eat all those vegetables? No. But they have learned to pick out what they don't want and I'm ok with that. If you try it, I hope you like it. Have a wonderful day!