Blue and Gold Banquet

Blue And Gold

Yep, It's that time again to celebrate the  Cub Scouts of America.  The organization turns 84 this year.  It's just a fun night where the pack and the families get together to celebrate the Packs achivement during the year. This is the Second one I had a hand in planning.  I am counting on 100 people, will we have that many, I don't know but if we have some left over, we can do seconds of pack it up to take to MOHM's Place or the Micah house.

Dinner is Hot dogs in Macaroni and cheese,  tossed salad and Apple slices with carmel dip.

Ever try to  create Macaroni for 100 people?  I really haven't either.  I kinda know how to do it and I know it will take longer to do so so I have accounted for that, I have the proper cheese ratio down. and the Hot dogs will be cut up and cooked the last 5 minutes of cooking time for the noodles since it has to bake for about an hour afterwards.

I am cooking 18 pounds of Macaroni is 3 batches.  Three BIG pots on the stove.
I am cutting up 80 turkey hot dogs in half and each half into fourths.  Those would be added the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Drain the mac, and put each batch into roaster oven pans.

The Sauce is 8T of butter, 8T of flour, a few pinches of salt, some pepper and 1 1/2 quart of milk. Bring that is a bubble and add 2 pounds of shredded mild Cheddar,  1 pound of Sharp Cheddar and stir until all melty,  (Each batch of sauce will go over each pan of  macaroni)  Sprinkle 2 cups of shredded Tillamook Extra Sharp cheddar and cover with  the lid from roaster and let it sit at 350* for an hour.

The Salad is 20 pounds of premix that will already be portioned into bowls and topped with an olive, a cherry tomato and two thin slices of cucumber.  The Salad Dressings will be Ranch of course and Italian.  Both will be made on site.   1 quart of mayo, 1 quart of buttermilk and 4 packages of Hidden Valley Ranch.  Italian is 1 cup pure olive oil, (EVOO is too strong for my taste) 1 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup white vinagar, and 2t of  Italian Seasoning,  that is it.

The Apple slices are red delicious apples that have been sliced and packaged in 2oz packages. I have ordered 100 of them.

The Carmel sauce is 1 cup butter, melted, 4 cups of brown sugar, 2 cups of light corn syrup, 4T of water, 28 oz if sweeted condensed milk, 2t of vanilla.  Boil without stiring until softball stage. take off heat and add vanilla.  I am going to portion them out into 2oz portion cups.  this will only make 60 portions but I think it's all that we will need.

Wish me luck and off we go.

Chicken Tertrazzini

I have some chicken breasts thawing out for tetrazzini. The recipe is not easy but it's -4*F outside and we are souped out! Oh and this isn't low fat by any means so we don't have it all the time

I start a pot of water on the stove for one Pound of Liguni add salt. I cook until Al dente.

Melt about 1T of butter in a large skillet, and cook 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts until pale golden, about 4 minutes each side. They will just be barely done but the dish is baked for another 45 minutes. Set them in a large bowl to cool for now.

In same skillet, melt 2T olive oil and 2T more butter and when that gets hot, add 1 pound of sliced mushrooms, one large onion thinly sliced and 5 cloves of crushed garlic. saute until golden brown, add salt and pepper to taste. While the mixture is cooking, I cut up the chicken into just small bites. when the mushroom mixture is done cooking, I add that to the bowl with the chicken.

Then a melt 2T more of butter in the same skillet, add 2T flour to make my Roux, add 4 cups of milk, 1 cup chicken stock, (Original recipe called for white wine and I don't drink it nor cook with it) and let that come together for a thick sauce. When it does,
I add one cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, 1/2 a bag of frozen peas, and 1 cup chopped fresh parsley. Pour over the mushrooms and chicken and add the cooked Ligini Toss to coat and add to a 13x9 baking dish. Top with Italian breadcrumbs and bake for 45 minutes. it it looks to be too brown on top, tent with foil.

I serve it with garden salad and garlic bread.

Macaroni, Hamburger and Tomatoes!!!!

How Yummy is that?!?  I do have a confession, I am listening to Michael Blublé while I am write this post. Not that he is a looker, but he has a set of pipes on him. He can read me the phone book over the phone anytime.


Cook one pound of Macaroni noodles per directions on the box.   Or if you are like me, you fill a pot half full of water, add a good amount of salt and let it come to a bubble and add the box of pasta and let it come to a bubble and when it's firm to the tooth, ( can't spell Al dente)  drain and by the time it's cooked, you have the other stuff done

Brown one pound of hamburger with one small onion finely chopped, a few cloves of garlic chopped, and whatever you think makes it taste good.

Drain the fat if any and add a good squirt of tomato paste, a half hearted squirt of anchovy paste, a 14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes with juice. let it simmer for a few minutes to get nice and cozy,  Add to cooked macaroni and you have DINNER!

You can do garlic bread and salad to complete the meal.


My dad hates this meal by the way. Don't know why, He just does.

If you have whole tomatoes just run a table knife through the can a few times to break them up.

MOM?!? What's for Dinner, I am STARVING!

If you haven't heard that before, you don't have kids at home.  If you have a husband or significant other,  it's "Hon?!? What's for dinner, I am STARVING!"

Believe it or not, this is what we are having for dinner tonight.

Bunless turkey burgers,
Stuffing
Corn on the cob
and  Pumpkin pie if there is any left.

One of our local stores had ground turkey on sale.  it was under 2 dollars a pound sold in one pound chubs,  You bet your last dollar I got 20 of them.  Cheaper than ground beef and my kids can't tell the difference.

Bunless?   Yep as in No bun!   There are carbs in the corn, and stuffing, why add more?

  because you come from a carb loving family and yes we are carnivores!

I heard that.  Now is the time to change to lower carbs.

For 2 pounds of ground turkey, I am mixing in

1/4 c of dehydrated onion
2T of granulated garlic
2t of salt
couple shakes of pepper
an egg ( just to bind it)

mix that well and shape into 8 patties.   Since there isn't much fat in the ground turkey, I broil the patties in the oven.  If I pan fry, the stick and fall apart.

The Stuffing

one bag of Pepperidge Farms Stuffing,  I am doing Herb seasoned.

I sautee one med onion and 2 cups of celery in 1/4 cup of butter then I add the dry stuffing mix, and moisten it with chicken stock.

The Corn on the cob is Self explainitory.

Now I am off to help make a dress,  Cut a head of hair and find more costumes for "Into the Woods"   March 23 at Wilson Middle school!

Orange Roughy

Yeah, it's an ugly fish. There for proving my theory that if it's cute, Don't eat it.  It will taste bad.  Really.  The uglier the meat, the better tasting it is.

What the butcher was passing as Orange Roughy wasn't true Roughy. It was an Asian cousin.  Roughy is a bit overfished and it takes a long time for it reproduce. It has a long life and doesn't reproduce until much later.

The fish I got was Sahi. It's a substitute for the Roughy.  it was mild, white fish. It had a sweet taste to it.

How I cooked it the other night was I dredged the fillets in flour, then egg white that was beaten until foamy and seasoned with a pinch or two of salt, some dried dill and a couple of dashes of lemon juice. and then I covered the egg layer in bread crumbs.

I did a pound and half of fish with 2 cups of flour, 4 eggs whites, pinch or two of salt, a pinch or two of dried dill and a couple of splashes of Lemon Juice and 2 cups of bread crumbs.

I baked it at 350* for  15 minutes and I served it with Couscous and steamed carrots.

How do you make Couscous?   I boil 1 1/2c of chicken stock with about a 1T of butter, I add 1T of granulated garlic, dehydrated minced onion, and  1t of pepper.  Remove from heat and add 1 cup of couscous. Cover and let steam for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

I got a Rice cooker/steamer for Christmas and I use it at least 3 times a week to steam or cook anything and everything in it.

To pan steam carrots, I take a pound of carrots and peel them, cut them into 2-3 inch long sticks,  and steam them, to Pan steam,  add 1/2 a cup of water and 1/8t of salt, bring to a boil and add the carrots. let it come to a boil again and cover the pan and let cook,  it takes about 10 minutes depending on how big your carrots are.

I have some other projects in the fire. TTYL

Ham and Bean Soup

Finally, winter has come to Iowa. There is no snow but the wind is blowing off some unseen glacier and if you don't have a good insulated coat, you will freeze.  Just ask the 300 or so people at last night Romney Rally. I was there and I dragged my 16 year old daughter out to it too. I think the significance is lost on her mind right now.

Anyhow...

Ham and bean soup. YUM when it's cold outside.

8 cups of cold water
1 pound of great northern or Navy beans (You would think that Navy beans would be well, Navy instead of white. Where is Alton Brown when I need him?)

Either soak over night or since you are like me, you didn't think about doing this until noon and you want the soup for dinner so quick soak them.  Add the beans to the pot after you  sort them, (Just check for abnormality and rocks) and add the water. Bring to a rolling boil, cover and take off the heat for about an hour or so.  Drain and rinse well.  I even wash the pan but that is me. I have this logical fear of Botulism.

Put the beans back into the pot with 8 more cups of water  left over ham bone, 
2 carrots, peeled and sliced,
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 small onion diced
a bay leaf or two
2 t of dry mustard or more to taste.
  Let it simmer for about and hour and half to 2 hours or until beans are tender.

I am going to serve this with corn muffins.

Edit: I just googled why Navy beans are white,  They are called Navy beans because they were a staple for the US Navy during the wars.  That makes sense to me.

Crustless Mini quiches and Pioneer Pancakes.

We are getting ready for our traditional Christmas Brunch. Since Christmas is Sunday, we will have church at 10 AM and a late brunch at 2 PM.  Usual fare is Pioneer pancakes, sausage, Hash browns and whatever else people bring. In true Sharp family form, it's Bring your own drinks.  We have some friends that can't have the gluten of the pancakes so I am going a gluten free mini quiches and Some are picky about the meat they will eat so I have turkey sausage links that I am going to make some quiches with too.

Mini Quiches

8 oz package of diced ham
1 red pepper finely diced,
1 small onion finely diced

Saute in about 1T of butter.  (Hey, I said it was crust less, not fat free)  cook until pepper and onion are soft.  about 5 minutes on Medium high heat.  Set aside.

Then take

8 oz package of cream cheese room temperature.
1t each of dried sage, thyme and rosemary and combine in small bowl.

For the custard it's

4 large eggs
4 egg yolks
1 cup of heavy cream
pinch of salt.
1T of Rice flour.  Whisk until smooth.  I mix it in a glass measuring cup as it's easier to pour.

Spray a mini cupcake pan with no stick cooking spray. and Preheat the oven to 375*.  Place a teaspoon of the ham mixture in each cup, Top that with a teaspoon of herbed cheese, and then pour the custard over that until the cup is full.  Bake until it starts to puff and turns light brown on top, About 18-20 minutes. Let the pan cool for about 5 minutes, Run a knife along the quiche and the side of the cup to loosen and set on a serving platter with Baby spinach.

It does freeze well and makes excellent snacks, or a lunch to take to the office.



Pioneer Pancakes

we have been fixing this recipe forever.

6 eggs
1 cup of milk,
1 cup of flour
1 stick of butter

Melt the butter in a 13x9 inch glass baking dish at 350*.  Since this will take a few minutes,  that is when I mix  the eggs, milk and flour and a pinch of salt together until smooth.  I take it a few steps further and a a splash or two of vanilla and a dash or two of cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour the batter into the hot baking dish and bake for about 10 minutes or until set in the middle and a toothpick inserted, come out clean.

I like serving this with Cherry Pie filling and assorted fruit syrups.