Cubed Steak Sandwich

I was folding laundry the other night and watching the pioneer woman- she was making some kind of sandwich for her husband. My husband then walked by and commented on how good it looked. While I wasnt paying attenion to what she was using exactly- I tried to make something similar. From there the cubed steak sandwich was born.

Hoagie Rolls
Onion
Package of cubed steak
butter, olive oil
flour
water
salt\pepper

I cut up my cubed steak into bite size pieces. Heated my pan with about 1\2 stick of butter and 1\4 cup of olive oil. I then cut up the onion and started to saute in the pan until it cooked down. Remove the onion and set aside. Add the meat until brown. Add about 1\3 cup of flour to the meat- stirring to soak up all the oil and butter. Cook on low heat to brown. Then add in your water a little at a time stirring until you get the consistency you want- I liked mine thicker. Then add the onions back in. I used hoagie rolls and toasted them with butter the placed the meat mixture on the sandwich. Perfect Saturday night sandwich!

A little Spring in my step…

This weather is so silly! One minute Im planning for Spring, the next Im planning for a freeze! I guess we shouldn’t really complain I mean have you been outside today! I know I showed my garden area to yall when I first planted for Fall but thought Id give an update

In the Fall we had planted, collard greens, kale, peppers, lettuce and broccoli. We were able to get a good crop of lettuce out first but the warmer temperatures caused our lettuce to start to bolt and it turns bitter fast! That quickly became chicken greens for their pickin. The broccoli was in season perfectly around Thanksgiving and we were able to use about half of what we planted. The warmer temperatures then caused the broccoli to bloom- the rabbit then feasted on the leftovers. I planted another round of lettuce but we were not able to get to harvest any of that due to extreme cold temperatures and a lot of rain that turned our lettuce to mush. Two constants have remained in our garden from Fall until late Winter- Collard Greens and Kale. These two wintery greens have been so easy and so fruitful!

While we were on vacation a varmit came into our chicken pen and took all of our chickens but 1. The last chicken standing and the rabbit are now roommates and share a loft on the West side- hehe. They are seriously so cute together. The rabbit grooms the chicken- they spend sunny afternoons lounging in the garden area- I think they will be lifelong roommates.

After there were no more chickens in the pen we ran new wire around the pen and cleaned the coop out really well. If you have chickens you know that your grass disappears fast! We then seeded the pen with grass seed so that when our new baby chicks arrive they will have something to scratch in…and they should be making their journey to their future home now!

So while I am getting a little antsy to plant my Spring bulbs, plants and herbs I am still enjoying a few of my Fall crops!

I have no menu to post this week- I grabbed a few things at the store this week to get us by but Im hoping to use some of those partial bags in the freezer and the cans way back in the cabinet to throw some meals together.

Happy 2nd week of February!

Menu 2\1

Happy February! Can you believe tomorrow we will be in the second month of the year?

First week of the month is always brings us a little more to do so you will find some crockpot meals on our list this week. Im also looking foward to the warmer temperatures.

Saturday- Spaghetti & Meatballs, Salad and Garlic Bread (We didnt have this meal last week because we had leftovers one night)

Sunday- Buffalo Wings, Sausage Balls, Cheese Sticks- oh yeah we are doing it! I will probably watch about 30 minutes of the superbowl and read the rest of the time. I know youre shocked because Im such a huge college football fan. NFL just doesnt really excite me. Im rooting for the Broncos though!

Monday- Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday- Grilled Pork Chops, Grilled potatoes and Green Bean Casserole

Wednesday- Roasted Chicken in the crockpot, Alfredo Pasta, left over GBC

Thursday- Beef & Noodles in the crockpot, Sweet Peas

Friday- PepperSteak in crockpot over Rice

Saturday- Tacos

Hope you all have a great weekend! Im sure we will be painting fence posts and getting some honey-dos done around the house.

Freezer Cooking Snow Day!

20 minutes from the beach lay a home with a family of four awaiting a snowflake or two. While we were waiting I figured I would make the most of my time and groceries. I had no intentions of doing this until I started putting chili together for tonight. So with the groceries that I had on hand (and I have a lot for a little home) I got almost every kitchen appliance out and got to work.

First up I made my chili and put it in the crockpot for tonight.

Next up I had 6 huge chicken breasts- I boiled them up and used my mixer to shred them. I then used that chicken to make 4 casseroles and 2 batches of shredded chicken for later use. Talk about bang for your buck! Did I mention that I got the chicken buy 1 get 1 as well.
I made 2 different casseroles and each made 2 dishes worth.
Broccoli, Chicken Rice Casserole
Mexican Chicken Casserole

I made a large bag of Sausage Balls. These are a hit with the boys in my family. You can take a few out and heat to eat with breakfast or pull them out as appetizer and whip up a dip for them.

I made 3 bags of Breakfast Burritos and Breakfast Biscuits. All of which pretty much contain the same thing but are held together with different types of bread, one a tortilla and one a biscuit. I wrap them in a paper towel then tin foil. Before Lee heads for work its very easy to take it out of the tin foil and pop it in the microwave.

I then made some granola bars. These fly off a platter so fast they wont make it to the freezer.

I was hoping to get some muffins made but I think Ill call it a day in the kitchen (except for cleanup).

My favorite container to freeze in:

I also got an awesome deal on tin foil casserole pans from Sam’s- 30 of them for under $7!

Menu 1/25

I made a menu last week- wrote it on the backside of my Publix list and in the trash it went Since I was pretty busy doing data entry getting ready to send my vendors their 1099’s I figured ah the heck with it, Ill catch up next week. So Im baaaack!!

Saturday- Chicken wings, home fries and corn

Sunday- Beef Roast, zipper peas and rice

Monday- Spaghetti & Meatballs

Tuesday- Baked shrimp, cheesy rice and asparagus

Wednesday- Chili   * I used to eat my chili plain with a little shredded cheese. A few weeks ago I tried it over rice and with sour cream…my image of chili will never be the same! It was so delicious! No one else in my family agrees but I will be eating it this way from now on.

Thursday- Chicken & Dumplings, Green beans

Friday- Pork tenderloin, mac-n-cheese an broccoli

 

 So are yall getting all situated in the new year? I think we are or we will be when I get more stuff done for our taxes. Did yall know I hate tax time? Well, I do! In other news we are working on our property more which means more time away from home which means our home is a mess hehe. If I could give up those shows that I love nightly I could probably have a cleaner house but a girl has to have some down time.

Menu 1\12

Phew! What a holiday season! We had a great time visiting family and celebrating but Im happy to take this week and hit the reset button and regroup! I have eaten and cooked until I dont think my jeans or my kitchen can handle any more! Im not one for resolutions so I dont make them but every year after the holidays I feel so sluggish because of my even worse than normal eating habits. I joined the Proverbs 31 Ministry OBS for Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst who is amazing. If you have never read anything by her I suggest you do! I was chatting with Lee the other day about finding a balance between lighter meals and still enjoying the down home cooking that I enjoy making and we all enjoy eating. I told him I think I will limit meals with gravy to 1-2 a week! Haha simple enough right?? So here is our menu starting Sunday!

Sunday- London Broil, Butter Noodles, Broccoli

Monday- Baked fish, roasted kale and potatoes, sweet peas

Tuesday- Mexican Chicken Casserole

Wednesday- Baked Parmesan Chicken, Cauliflower Alfredo over pasta, sauted zucchini

Thursday- Grilled pork chops, baked squash, baked sweet potato fries

Friday- Crock pot bacon wrapped apple chicken, rice and green beans

Yall notice I did not use the word “fry” in this entire post!

Menu 12\15

What an exciting week coming up! My baby brother is coming up all week to work and I enjoy having him here- eek! We get to do lots of baking and crafts- eek! We are going to show light shows- eek! A fun ornament exchange with some of my favorite girls- eek! I have a dentist appointment- not so eek! So anyway here is our menu for the week!

Sunday- Cheeseburger soup

Monday- PepperSteak over rice, zucchini

Tuesday- Hamburger steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked beans

Wednesday- Grilled pork chops, Pasta and green beans

Thursday- Hamburgers & Fries

Friday- Beef tenderloin, hashbrowns, fried corn

Saturday and Sunday we will be at Christmas parties- Im contributing collard greens (surprising I know!) and a dessert to one…the other Im unsure of. No meal planning for those two days though 🙂

Enjoy yall’s week and dont miss an opportunity to give!

Menu 12\9

Is it Monday already? There are just not enough weekends around Christmas for all of the family activities and celebrations! I hope that you are taking advantage of all the fun activities in your area too 😉

I plan on making some yummy treats this week. First up is some lemon cookies. Next week we will be up to our ears in Christmas cookies and crafts so I thought Id make something different this week. Also my granny brings a whole lotta lemons up from her lemon tree. Ive already made lemonade, a lemon cake and juiced and froze lemon concentrate.  I also plan on making some kale chips- our kale needs to be tended to and used. May throw some dehydrated apple chips into the mix too. Yes…come January you may just see “Chick-fil-a” on my menu! Just kidding…maybe!

Last night we had yummy baby back ribs, mac-n-cheese, collard greens and toast. So here is our menu through this week…

Monday- Lasagna, salad, asparagus, garlic bread

Tuesday- leftovers! (I take advantage of this day to make more treats and snacks)

Wednesday- Beef & Broccoli over rice

Thursday- Chicken & Dumplings, green beans

Friday- London Broil, skillet potaoes, Sweet peas

Saturday- Wings, french fries and…well do you really ruin it with something green? hehe

 

I hope yall have a great week, Im hoping to help Santa out with his wrapping this week so that next week we can bake, craft and spread Christmas cheer all week!

Menu 12\2

Somehow my cabinets and fridge are empty! Im refusing to go to the store until the end of the week because I think its good once in a while to reach way back in the cabinet. So- here is my reaching menu! Luckily while out last Friday I grabbed some milk and some fruit AND I have a bumper crop outside so Im using what Ive grown (kale, broccoli, peppers).

Monday- Venison, rice and gravy and sauted kale

Tuesday- Grilled pork chops, alfredo pasta, sweet peas

Wednesday- Beef roast with broccoli, cheese rice

Thursday- Beef and noodles in the crockpot, green beans

Friday- Breakfast- sausage, eggs & peppers, grits and biscuits

Thanksgiving Preparation

If youre the cook at Thanksgiving then you probably have already gotten elbow deep into preparing. This is my 7th year (I believe) hosting Thanksgiving at my home and it is like the supwerbowl of my life! I cannot sleep the night before. Its the preparing, cooking, serving, planning that all has to come together for the puzzle to be completed. I hope come nightfall all the faces in my home will be grinning. So first I make my list- 3 sheets of paper. The first is the menu, the second is my grocery list the third is my POA- Plan of Action

Here is my menu
Appetizers: Cheese ball and crackers, Crab dip and crackers, nuts, celery with pb or cream cheese

Meal: Turkey, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Mac-n-cheese, Cornbread Dressing, Green Bean Casserole, Broccoli Salad, Sweet Potato Casserole, Cranberry Sauce (homemade and it is divine), Collard Greens, Deviled Eggs and Rolls

Desserts: Chocolate Pie, Peanut Butter Pie and Pumpkin Creme Pie

First thing is first- get the food! Because I sometimes need a spice, an extra thing here or there, I try to make my list according to the store layout- saves time if your store is packed a week before like mine.

POA
Tuesday- I set out my tables, wash any dishes and platters and set them out! Sounds silly but you dont want to be running around trying to find a home for the biscuits when you were supposed to eat 20 minutes ago. I also write next to each menu item what dish it will go in so that I dont have to go digging. At this moment my buffet table is set, my drink table and my appetizer. I also make my cornbread for the the dressing.

Wednesday: Baking day and prepping!
On Wednesday first thing I brine my turkey! If you dont do this- you must! It really makes a difference. I chop all my veggies- measure them out and put them in containers labeled with what they go in- I open the fridge Thursday morning and dump them in the pan. I make my broccoli salad (without the bacon mixed in), I make my deviled eggs, cheese ball and all the pies. My mixer and food processor get a gold star if they make it through another year!

Thursday- I do what is left
Once each thing is cooked I put a check next to it. I have had that one dish that has sat in the refrigerator because it was forgotten. Youve worked too hard to let that happen!

Last but not least- enjoy it!!

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven”- Johannes A. Gaertner