4 Mar

Snickerdoodle Muffins – YUMMM

Posted by charitychest in Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Ingredients

8oz unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
¾ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 and ¼ cup sour cream
2 and ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon mixed together for rolling

Directions

1.Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated.
2.In a separate, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and cream of tarter.
3.Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture in the additions. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl occasionally.
4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar.. Place muffin into a greased muffin tin.. Depending on the size of your tins, you should get about 12 to 14 muffins. Bake them for approx. 20-22 minutes in a 350°F oven or until they are golden brown.

27 Feb

Orange Chicken Veg Med

Posted by charitychest in Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

This is completely original.

Simple:

Take 1 Bag of Kahiki Chicken Pieces – General Tso’s.  (Ignore their sauce) it’s good but not for this recipe.

Bake as directed and set aside.

Take Bell Pepper Chopped, Broccoli Chopped, Carrot sliced thin (pre-sliced bag small) & 1 Medium Sweet White Onion chopped.

Steam the veggies til slightly soft, light crunch is great!

Then take -

  • 1 Cup Orange Juice – No pulp
  • 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tsp Brown Sugar

Heat Orange Juice on med low until orange juice bubbles, add Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar, cook until liquid thickens.

Poor the liquid over the Combined Chicken and Veggies and serve – IT’S THAT EASY!   Trust me the Chicken is like none other and the sauce is incredible!

(For a little more crunch, add sliced almond on top).

25 Feb

Best Onion Rings around!

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Homemade Onion Rings
A Straight from the Farm Original

3 T. canola oil
3 large white or yellow onions
1 egg
1/2 C. buttermilk
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C. all purpose flour
1 C. toasted wheat germ
1 C. bread crumbs
1 t. dried marjoram
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Spread the oil on a baking tray and set inside the preheating oven to get hot.

Cut the onions into a thick rings.  Separate the rings of the onion with your fingers and set aside.  In a large shallow dish, mix the egg, buttermilk, cayenne, salt and pepper until well combined.  Add the flour and mix until all lumps are gone.  In another large shallow bowl, combine the wheat germ, bread crumbs, marjoram, oregano , and basil.

Working in batches and using your hands, toss the onion rings in the batter first and then in the bread crumb mixture.*  When you have all the rings coated,  carefully remove the hot baking tray from the oven and immediately place the rings on it in a single layer.  You will likely need to bake them in two batches unless you have a very large tray.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden but not brown, turning over once during baking.  Remove from oven and place on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.  Sprinkle generously with salt and serve immediately.

*You can stop at this point and freeze the coated rings on a cookie tray and then put them in a ziplock bag to use later.  Just pop straight on a hot oiled baking pan (no need to thaw) and cook as directed above.

(serve 6)


6 Feb

Beef Bourguignon

Posted by charitychest in Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , .

So tonight it was Beef Bourguignon and I must say it went very well!  I have never made it before but some veggies, a really nice thick Chuck Roast, some Cognac and a bottle of Merlot and presto!

The meat is so tender with such flavor.  I recommend to everyone to try it at least once.  My recipe is a food network special and it was easy easy easy – just some time and well worth it!!

31 Jan

My Personal Change

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I am going to rock out this New Year – you will see changes in my Blog – I am going to start blogging more on the food and conversations that I make:   My hope is that I will get more people involved and that will want to share recipes and stories.

A big part of my life involves food and the love of enjoying it with friends and family.  Share your stories with me, take this journey with me.

This morning I woke up and made eggs and toast with hollandaise sauce – mind you this was the first time that I tried hollandaise!  It was awesome, my partner and I both ate everything up!  He had never had homemade hollandaise and really isn’t too crazy about eggs – but he ate everything and said he really like the sauce!

So try it out and let me know what you think, share your story with me – I know there are others that like food, get bored and just want to try something new.

My sauce was:

Half stick of butter
1 tspn white vinegar
1 tspn lemon juice – fresh
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs yolks only
1 tspn sugar

Whip the egg yokes with the vinegar, salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a bowl over a pan of hot water – due not put the butter bowl on direct heat, when you add the egg yolk it will cause them to scramble.

When the butter is melted, add the lemon and sugar.

Then add the egg yolk mixture slowly, mixing at the same time with a spoon until all egg yolks are in.

The egg should cook immediately as the heat is already hot enough to melt the butter. Only mix in until the egg yolk is the same color as the butter. The mixture is ready. Add over your cooked eggs on toast, how ever you like them – sunny side up, hard cooked or boiled and slice…..it really is good!

“We didn’t have ham or I would have added a ham slice to the side! YUM!

24 Jan

Let’s all try!

Posted by charitychest in Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

With a new year, we as people say, let’s change something, let’s do something better, let’s make a change in someone else’s life – very little of us actually follow through.  Think about the change you want to make and don’t look back this year, follow through, give yourself a chance to experience something different or change someone’s life – you just might find it changes yours!   ~Good Luck~

23 Jan

Music – my hiding place.

Posted by charitychest in Uncategorized. Tagged: , , .

So the pain begins
as the music fades
and Im left here with
with more than I can take

if you lift me up
just get me through this night
i know ill rest tomorrow
and ill be strong enough to try

when the sky clears
and all is said and done
i will realize
that we all need someone

if you lift me up
just get me through this night
i know ill rest tomorrow
and Ill be strong enough to try

so when you see me crashing
and theres nowhere left to fall
will you lift me even higher
to rise above this all

if you lift me up
said if you lift me up

said if you lift me up
will it be higher

when you see me crashing
and theres nowhere left to fall
will you lift me even higher
to rise above this all

if you lift me up
said if you lift me up
if you lift me up
just get me through this night

19 Jan

Continuing on the Autobiography

Posted by charitychest in Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , .

I have almost finished the autobiography; good or bad it’s the truth and will be my legacy that I leave.  I would hope one day someone who knew nothing about me finds it half way interesting.

17 Jan

Excuses are over – it’s time for a change.

Posted by charitychest in Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , .

I don’t know what’s led me to this time in my life.  All I know is that it’s time for a change.  I have sat back to long and done the things that I have felt were “appropriate”.   It’s time for “me”, to do the things that I know can or will make a difference.  I think we all “talk” a lot about this, lord know’s I have done my fare share of talking.   It’s time for action, now what those actions will be?   I’ll keep you posted.

Finding my peace – as I hope you all do.

16 Jan

Some things are hard to admit.

Posted by charitychest in Uncategorized.

My partner and I had planned on adopting for a long time.  We had so many hurdles and things in the way.  Then the State allowed same sex adoptions and our opportunity opened up.  We had been planning it for a quite a while now.   We were to begin what was a series of Saturday adoption classes for 11 weeks straight.

I don’t know what happened but late Friday, I could not take it anymore.   I had felt the weight or stress thinking about this adoption, it was truly something we both wanted and we would have made wonderful parents.  I am afraid my past and selfishness presented itself.  I realized I could not go through with it.  I really wanted to and I would have made it work, but I couldn’t.  The things that I have been through and seen, plus fears of repeating the past haunted and haunts me.  How could I bring a child into my world that “is wonderful” but has seen it share of downs.

I am going on 40 and feel so much older, I have stressed most of my life on just surviving, being better, not being ashamed of who I am, trying to leave my crazy mother behind me, trying to forget my Dad gave up on me and himself.  This isn’t “poor, poor me” this is reality.  As much as I want to say, things haven’t been that bad, and things are great now. “Which they are so good now”.  My mind hurts, I feel much older there than what my body is.

A child being adopted deserves more, they have already seen the nightmares I have, even more so.  I don’t have it in me to be strong for someone else anymore.  I have done that too much, I have myself and life in a place where I am happy and the things I have wanted I have achieved.  I have a wonderful partner and beautiful home, my biggest fear was letting him down, instead he just said to me “I just want you to be happy” without even thinking of himself.  I then realized, he makes me happy, my life is happy.

I pray for every adoptive child out there, I wish them the best and a happy loving home.  I’m sorry I couldn’t do it, but I have to be honest with them and myself and say – I am just not able to do this.

Thank you Shannon for loving me and when I feel very alone in this world, I have the security of knowing you are there.

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