Dessert: Ice Cream with Caramel Sauce and Waffles

This is what happens when the brownies are gone.
I took a home made waffle out of the freezer. Then made some caramel sauce with butter, brown sugar, and white corn syrup. Boiled it. Added a bit of vanilla. Then toasted the waffle, topped it with a scoop of ice cream, and poured warm caramel sauce over the top. (The harder/longer you boil the caramel sauce, the harder it gets when it hits the ice cream)
Yes, it was good.

Supper: Polska Kielbasa

Just a simple supper: Fried sausage, mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese, green beans, and corn.
Dang, forgot to put the pickles out....

Bite O'Bran Muffins

These are the type of muffins made in advance, then the batter can sit in the fridge in a plastic tub, waiting to be scooped out and made fresh. I found a recipe in an old church ladie's cookbook, and made some modifications. Here it is:
2 cups Nabisco 100% Bran (I used store brand bran flakes, didn't have Nabisco)
2 cups boiling water
Pour boiling water over the bran, let sit while getting other ingredients ready.
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 cups buttermilk
1 (generous) tsp. vanilla
Mix well. Add the wet bran mixture.
Then sift together:
3 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
5 tsp. soda
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Add the dry mixture to the wet. Add
4 cups Kelloggs All Bran (the stuff looks like long pellet rabbit food)
Mix well, and put into a large plastic tub (I have a square Rubbermaid one) and put in the fridge. You can scoop and bake as needed.
I made them up in advance, using mini-muffin tins, no papers, sprayed the non-stick pans with oil. Then put them in the oven 350F for about 25 minutes. It makes 8 dozen mini-muffins.

Today's Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Hashbrowns

Using up leftovers: a bit of cooked bacon, a root end of an onion, and a small sweet pepper. Then put in some frozen (yep) hashbrowns. Lots of black pepper, a pinch of salt. Melt cheese at the end; I used what was in a small bag in the fridge, shredded, either colby or cheddar.

As for the eggs, well, duh. Eggs, a small splash of milk, pepper, salt. Scramble.

Today's Nachos

These are easy, just using up some leftovers in the fridge. First, I fried quartered corn tortillas, drained them on a paper towel. Then, I arranged them on a cookie sheet, topped them with some shredded Italian blend cheese (remember, I am using leftovers), diced jalapeno (I left the seeds in, I wanted some heat), sliced green onions, and a bit more shredded cheese on top. I baked them in a hot oven (450F), until cheese was bubbly and starting to brown.

Dinner: Stuffed Pasta Shells, Pork Cutlet, Green Beans

See prior posts. The green beans were cooked with some bacon grease.
Yep.

Oven "Fried" Pork Cutlet

Dip the cutlets in olive oil, then in a mixture of panko, fresh ground pepper, parmesan, Italian seasoning.
Roast in the oven on a rack so the underside doesn't get soggy. I turned them part way through cooking.

Shells Stuffed with Ricotta

I had some ricotta to use, made the other day from leftover dairy in the fridge. So I made stuffed shells. In a bowl, I mixed the ricotta, an egg, shredded parmesan/romano/asiago cheese, and seasoned it with fresh ground pepper, Italian seasoning, fresh oregano, and nutmeg.

I made the filling earlier in the day, then when ready, cooked the jumbo shells, cooled them in water, then filled them with the cheese mixture. They were placed in a simple sauce: large can crushed tomatoes, small jar roasted red pepper, blended together; sliced garlic, Italian seasoning.

Over the top, I sprinkled an Italian blend shredded cheese and seasoned panko bread crumbs (parmesan, pepper, It. seasoning). Start out with it covered, then take the cover off during the last part of baking so the crust gets golden.

Dutch Pancakes

These are also known as German pancakes. very easy.... preheat the oven (425F) and cast iron pan. In a bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, a pinch of salt and sugar.
Put a couple of tablespoons of butter into the hot pan, when melted, pour the batter into the pan. Put back into the oven for about 15 minutes, until puffy and golden.
Serve immediately with syrup or jam.

Caramelized Onions and Peppers for Pizza

This is a topping I made for a pizza today. I sliced a sweet onion.

I sauted them slowly in a cast iron pan, with olive oil and kosher salt. After a bit, I covered them to bring out the juices.

While the onions cooked, I diced a sweet pepper and minced a couple of cloves of garlic.I took the lid off to reduce the accumulated liquid.

I added the peppers nd garlic to the pan, continuing to cook.

The onion mixture was seasoned with fennel, red chili flakes, fresh ground pepper, and thyme.

Today's Ricotta

I had some milk, half-n-half, and cream to use up, so I made ricotta.

I put it in a heavy-bottomed stock pot, and brought it to about 189F. I turned off the burner and added cider and white vinegar and let it sit to curdle. I added some sea salt.

I lined a colander with wet coffee filters, then ladled in the curdled milk mixture.

After it drained for awhile, I covered it with another coffee filter, a layer of plastic wrap, and a plate, placing my heavy salt crock on top.

After a bit, I put the drained ricotta in a container and put it in the fridge.

Yes, it is that easy.

Cardamom & Nutmeg Poundcake

I used the recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. We got it as a wedding present 31 years ago! It's pretty basic cake with butter, sugar, eggs, flour, salt, baking powder.

One and a half sticks of butter, 3/4 cup sugar. Beat. Then add 3 eggs, continue to beat until fluffy.

Not having vanilla on hand, and not wanting to use lemon extract, I flavored the cake with cardamom and nutmeg.It was sifted into the egg mixture.

Put it into a prepared pan, I used a spray oil then floured the pan.

I baked it at 350F for about 45 - 50 minutes.

With cherry preserves...

Today's Pizza

It was another pizza day in our house. i don't think we tire of it! Today, I made four pizzas. The first two were very similar, but one had extra cheese. I call it my man pizza: sausage, pepperoni, Italian cheese blen, shredded parmesan/romano/asiago, mozzarella. I included diced sweet peppers on the one with extra cheese.

Next, I made a simple cheese pizza. Sauce, aforementioned cheese, with the addition of home made ricotta, and diced sweet peppers.

The last pizza was sausage, and a mixture of caramelized sweet onion, peppers, garlic, seasoned with red pepper flakes, fennel, cracked pepper, sea salt. I used up the rest of the mozzarella and Italian cheese blend, and some of the shredded parmesan/romano/asiago.

Yes, it was good.