Bit o' scone, Mum?

It's 5am and I'm up without an alarm clock. I didn't think I was that excited, but I think I was more nervous to miss the start of everything.

You know, everything - Prince Duke William's wedding. Yeah, I'm up for it and I love it. I think it's great fun, like the Oscars - not incredibly important, but enjoyable to watch (especially for the fashion). I understand people who don't understand why it's interesting, but I do have to say I'm bothered by the comments I've seen saying, "I hope they get divorced in a few years." I wouldn't say that about nearly anyone. At the base of things, William and Kate are two twentysomethings getting married because they love each other (we hope/assume). Why wouldn't we want to celebrate that?

To truly celebrate the occasion, I've made a bit of a treat: PW's Maple Pecan Scones (from her cookbook). That recipe calls for forming the dough into a large circle and cutting it into eight wedges. I decided to instead form the dough into a large rectangle and cut the dough into twenty-four petite wedges, like PW's petite vanilla scones.

All in all, the recipe mostly went as planned. The only glitch was rolling out the dough, which I suck at, always. I need to get a silicone French rolling pin; I think that will help. So I ended up forming the dough by hand and that actually worked out just fine. (No pictures of the finished scones because it was dark when I made them and it's dark as I'm eating them and the flash makes them look unappetizing, alas.)

I definitely recommend this recipe - it is quite delicious. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a scone and a cuppa English Breakfast Tea to get to and a wedding to watch.

This post is another in a series where I attempt to make every recipe in The Pioneer Woman's cookbook.  You can click on "Pioneer Woman" in my tags to read the other attempts.

7 Quick Tuesday Takes

1 - I finally recorded my video for class last night and posted the whole assignment around 1:30am. I haaaate watching myself on video. I always want to say, "Really? Why doesn't anyone stop me from making those faces?" But, funny enough, I noticed that I talk more like my brother than I realized. Watching myself talk on the video was really like watching him talk at times, as far as facial expressions and gestures are concerned. It was an interesting realization for me.

2 - Someone I know posted on Facebook about how she hopes Katherine Middleton wears a wedding dress with sleeves because the whole strapless wedding dress style is overdone and boring and frustrating to those "who can't wear" that style. I find this exasperating because saying the style is overdone is like saying blue jeans are overdone. Sure, they're everywhere, but they're a part of life. If religious restrictions don't require sleeves on a dress, I don't see a problem with strapless.

And part two of my exasperation is people who won't wear sleeveless things because of their arms. JUST WEAR THE SLEEVELESS TOP ALREADY. Truly, no one will care. Most likely, your arms aren't the largest they've seen AND you're not fooling anyone by wearing sleeves. I still know what size your arms are. Get over it already. (The whole "I can't wear sleeveless" is one of my biggest pet peeves.)

3 - I got TWO wall decorations put up yesterday! Hurrah! I got the hubby to hang up Nate's name sign (a photograph of a "Nathaniel Ave" sign) and I hung up a wall decal in his room that has a yellow sun and says, "You are my sunshine" above his crib. I can't sing the song without crying, but I love it anyway.

4. Last night I made Picky Palate's Chicken and Black Bean Green Enchilada Rice Bake - except I used red enchilada sauce instead of green, brown rice instead of white, Rotel instead of plain canned diced tomatoes, omitted the olives (yech) and added a layer of corn (yummm). It was totally scrumptious.

5. Speaking of Picky Palate (so in love with her), why haven't I made her Bacon and Cheese Egg "McMuffin" Cups yet???

6. Nate's birthday is two weeks from today. Oh. My. God. How is my little man already turning a year old??? I want to cry.

7. I'm thinking about hiring a professional cleaner to clean our house before his party. Then I think, "Wow, that really speaks to my failure as a cleaner." Also probably shouldn't spend the money - should just buckle down and get scrubbing.

Happy Tuesday!

Cheesy Noodle Bake (aka Momburger Helper)

Last week, The Pioneer Woman posted a recipe for a Sour Cream Noodle Bake.

"Yum!" I thought... "Oh, except I hate sour cream. And I hate cottage cheese. But yum, egg noodles and meat in tomato sauce and cheese."

These, I've come to realize, are the burgeoning thoughts of a recipe about to be altered. So prepare yourself to witness some transformation.

I made that all dramatic sounding but, really, all I've done is swap similar items for the ones I don't like. Is that how all recipe altering goes? Am I, like, dozens and dozens of years late to this party?

Well, perhaps. But let's put on our party hats and get swapping.

Things PW used in her recipe that I do not like to eat:

sour cream
cottage cheese
canned tomato sauce (okay, I don't mind this, but the hubby's homemade marinara blows it away)

My substitutions:

sour cream --> Philly Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme
cottage cheese --> ricotta
canned tomato sauce --> IMs to the hubby requesting he make marinara

Here's the funny part: I also hate cream cheese. However, I don't mind it in moderation in cooking (and especially not in baking) and since these cooking creme products seem to be on the savory side, I figured it might work out really well.

And it did. The cream cheese added a really interesting tang to the finished product. Nate gobbled up his part and the hubby had seconds, so I'm calling this dish a success. (I just had some leftovers for lunch and it was just as delicious reheated in the microwave.) As we were eating it, we realized it reminded us of Hamburger Helper, hence the "Momburger Helper." Any time I can find a way to make something that replaces a packaged food, I'm very happy. And I think this was much tastier, as well. It also makes a decent sized portion, so if it's just two of you and a little one, you're not stuck eating it for the next eight days. You have enough for two nights of dinner and a lunch.

Cheesy Noodle Bake

1lb ground beef
14oz marinara sauce
salt
black pepper
8-10oz wide egg noodles
1/2 cup Philly Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme
1 1/4 cup ricotta
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (Or, if you're me, don't do this until you're ready to layer the casserole and go, "Crap, I never turned on the oven.")

Make marinara sauce and let it simmer for a while so all the flavors meld. (One of these days I'll get around to writing out how we make sauce.) Alternately, you can go to your cabinet and take out a can of tomato sauce.

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add marinara/tomato sauce.  Add salt and black pepper to taste. I used about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper but I would have used more (and some Italian seasoning) if the marinara wasn't as well seasoned as it was. Stir, then let simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and return to cooking pot.

While the noodles are cooking, combine the cooking creme and the ricotta in a medium bowl. Stir well and add black pepper to taste (maybe less than 1/4 tsp this time). Pour the cheese mixture into the pot holding the cooked egg noodles and stir gently until completely combined. (PW added green onions here, but I didn't because I didn't have any and didn't feel like buying them.)

In a 2 quart baking dish (so, smaller than your traditional 3 qt. 9x13 dish), place half of the noodles on the bottom of the dish. Top with half of the meat mixture and then sprinkle on half of the grated cheddar. Repeat the process (noodles, meat, cheese). Bake for about 15 minutes - enough so everything is heated through and all the cheese is melted but the noodles aren't crispy.

Soup for you!

5. Learn five new healthy dinner recipes.

Oh, hey 101 in 1001 list, how's it going?  Long time no see!

Bad me, I haven't really been keeping up with my 101 in 1001 challenge... but at least I still have nearly 11 months left to finish the items!  (I do have a few completed items to tack on to the end of this post, though, so keep reading.)

As previously mentioned, Nate cheerfully shared his first big cold with the hubby and me (which we are still very dreadfully suffering from, ugh).  When I have a cold, I want hot, spicy foods.  Stuff that will soothe my throat and clear my sinuses.  What I do not want is anything with big pieces to swallow or significant amounts of texture.

So when I mention that I'm really in the mood for tomato soup, what does the hubby say?  "You know what makes me feel better when I'm sick?  Protein - like chicken or something."

Uh, gag.  That was not happening.  And so, I found a very happy median: Cooking Light's Black Bean-Tomato Soup.

It has tomatoes.  It has black beans (protein!).  It has vegetables (nutrients!).  It has chicken broth (protein!).  It can be topped by cheese (protein!  and CHEESE!).  And, most importantly, it has bacon (the hubby's true love).

I followed the recipe nearly exactly, except that I had chicken bouillon so I made my own broth (money saving!) and I used fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of regular.  This added quite the extra kick to the soup; I'm not sure I'd do it again.  But considering how my throat feels and how numb I've been to taste, it did feel good.  I also did not make the cilantro-lime cream to go on top, which would have cooled it down, but yech, sour cream.  (I only like sour cream in baked goods or The Pioneer Woman's pancakes.)

This was a great dinner, though.  Just the bowl of soup with a sprinkle of shredded medium Cheddar cheese on top was enough for me.  I made a grilled cheese sandwich for the hubby to go along with his soup.

As for Nate?  He had his first bout try of cereal on Monday:

No likey, clearly.  We tried that for two days and then moved on to peas and pears yesterday, neither of which were a hit, either.  We still got the "What are you trying to do to me and where is the rest of my bottle?" look.  Or maybe it is the "Where are my tacos?" look, as the hubby guesses.

Now, as promised, other completed 101 in 1001 items!

91. Go to three concerts. Last night the hubby and I went to see Roger Waters, The Wall Live.  It was totally fantastic.  My parents babysat for Nate at our house and I have to say, it still feels weird to do anything without having Nate with us; it feels incomplete.  Even when Nate is not in my sights, he's on my mind.  But, regardless, the concert was very good and I did enjoy it.  I never saw Pink Floyd in concert, so this was a real treat.

98. Send a random care package to a friend.  A few weeks ago, a friend who I haven't seen since last year but who is very, very dear to me, was having a tough time and it was really hitting me how hard it's been to make time to see her.  She hasn't met Nate yet and I know she's going to love him, but neither one of us can afford the inter-state trip at this time so I decided to send her a card and a letter and a little package to let her know she's in my thoughts often.  I included some of my favorite tea, the favors and a picture from Nate's baptism (since she couldn't make it), and a copy of The Pioneer Woman's cookbook - because, you know, nothing says love like cooking with lots of butter and beef.

Meatball Comfort at 1am

I decided that one of the next recipes I wanted to try in The Pioneer Woman's cookbook was her Comfort Meatballs (named "BBQ Meatballs" on her site).

See, I grew up in a very "meat and potatoes" family (albeit always served with one, if not two veggie sides, mind you).  But my dad specifically loves meatballs, so I've had my fair share and then some.  And, frankly - I could generally take them or leave them.  I do like them (and my mom makes great meatballs), but I got quite tired of them, whether they were Italian style or Swedish style.

PW's Comfort Meatballs are different, though - they're like little meatloafs, almost.  So while the hubby is averse to just about any Italian food (because he grew up eating too much of it), these meatballs are specifically not of the garlic/parmesan family and so he was excited for them, too.

The problem was that I waited too long in the day to start them.  Well, not waited, exactly.  It's not like I was sitting around having my nails done and eating bon-bons.  See, there's this little man that lives with us and he can get quite demanding sometimes. 

He can't even eat meatballs so he really couldn't care less that that was what I had planned for the evening.

So it was maybe around 10:30pm when I said I was too tired to make the meatballs that I had planned to make and take for lunch the next day.

"But... what will I eat tomorrow, then?" asked the hubby.  Because, you know, without those meatballs, he would have had to forage through our kitchen and find something else to eat.  The horror.

Okay, I tease, but he did look just so sad about it that I said, "Okay.  Well, yeah, I really wanted them for lunch tomorrow."  Which was true.  I had bought some provolone cheese specifically to use on a sandwich with these meatballs and I was looking forward to that cheese too much not to have it the next day.

So I dug in.  I have to admit, I don't like making meatballs because the smell and feel of chopped meat totally grosses me out - like to the point that I almost gag if I get a big whiff of the meat.  But I soldiered on and made two trays of the little guys.

What I like about the recipe is that you brown the meatballs in a pan first and then bake them.  It's the best of both worlds - the satisfying (and healthier) comfort of a baked meatball with the outer texture of a fried one.  In addition, you make the sauce for them yourself and I'm a fan of any time I eat something that I know all the ingredients of.  (Have you looked at the ingredients on most bottles of BBQ sauce?  Yech.)

Somewhere around 1am I finally finished (after the hubby apologized, saying he didn't know how long the meatballs would take and wouldn't have asked for them if he knew - of course, I did know how long they'd take, so really there's no onus on him here anyway).  It was one of those rare occasions where I didn't immediately taste something I made because I really didn't feel like eating a meatball at 1:30am.  I simply let the meatballs cool and hoped for the best.

At work the next day, I finally gave them a try.  I put three meatballs with two slices of provolone on a hot dog roll we had left over from a family barbeque.

Verdict: YUM.  So very good.  And I ate them cold.  Come to think of it, I only ate them warm once (I made enough of these to stretch over several lunches and dinners).  I ate them as a cold sandwich; I ate them warm with soba noodles with just a bit of butter and salt; and I ate them cold with a cold pasta salad with veggies and garlic - and they held up to every one of those arrangements.  These are seriously fantastic, all purpose meatballs.  As PW says, they're really not meant for spaghetti and marinara, but I totally enjoyed them with the soba noodles and butter.  They would make a great picnic food, too, since they hold up really well to being eaten cold or at room temperature and with a variety of sides.

However, I would make two distinct changes to the recipe.  Next time I will:

1 - Start earlier.  Seriously.  No more midnight cooking for me, no matter how worth it the food is.

2 - Make the sauce a bit tangier.  I like my sauces (barbeque, marinara, pizza, etc) more tangy than sweet.  So I will probably use less ketchup, more Worcestershire (mmm, love Worcestershire), maybe cut half a tablespoon of the sugar, add a few more dashes of hot sauce, and also add some garlic (because I can't get enough garlic).

I love this "different" take on meatballs - and it's even made me look forward to the next times I have Italian or Swedish meatballs.  I am back on the meatball train.

This post is another in a series where I attempt to make every recipe in The Pioneer Woman's cookbook.  You can click on "Pioneer Woman" in my tags to read the other attempts.