Not to be Negative...

It was -11 when I woke up this morning. NEGATIVE ELEVEN!!!! That is just wrong. WRONG WRONG WRONG. Clearly I am living in the wrong half of the United States. Anyone want to send me somewhere warm and tropical? I will give you a nice write up.

What the what? 

Joy and I quickly ran one errand today and beyond that we stayed in the house.  I know I sound like a big baby but it is just too cold to be outside.

After homework was finished I showed the girls the Aristocats on Netflix this afternoon. Watching old Disney films is like watching Pixar films today in that they seem to recycle their actors.

As you can see it was a very low key day. My Beauty made another 100% on her spelling pre-test so she does not have to take the actual test tomorrow.  I think this makes 8 in a row for the pretests and her 12th 100%.  She has never made less than a 90%. It astounds me how quickly she learns her spelling words.  For someone who does not have the physical capability to "sound out" a word I am amazed. Although, I have no idea what she hears in her own head. Perhaps she is sounding the words out.

Dinner tonight was Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers. I pinned the recipe from Quick and Easy Recipes.  As I am still trying to cook mainly from my pantry I had a couple of tweaks.

Also, I am allergic to raw onions, so I very rarely use them in something like this. Onion powder is my go to substitute but today I tried something a little different. Cooked onions are OK but they have to be cooked completely clear (think French Onion Soup onions).  I did not feel like cooking an onion for 30 minutes, so I winged it a bit. I drained a can of French Onion Soup and used those onions. We liked they way they came out and it added a nice bit of flavor.  I am going to include the fresh onion here but know there is a tasty substitute if anyone has the same problem. (I did not waste the soup. I saved what I strained. Tomorrow I will have french onion soup with no onions for lunch which is how I like it anyway! (silver lining)

Cheese Steak Stuffed Pepper

2 whole green peppers
1 onion
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 package thin and lean roast beef
8 slices provolone cheese
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Thinly cut onion. Saute over medium heat with olive oil, mushrooms and a little salt and pepper. Saute until onions are caramelized. About 25-30 minutes.

While onions are cooking cut peppers in half lengthwise, remove ribs and seeds. Line the inside of each pepper with a slice of provolone cheese and place in a walled pan. Next cut roast beef into thin strips and add to the onions and mushrooms once the onions have caramelized. Allow to cook 5-10 minutes. Remove mixture from heat.

Fill each pepper with meat mixture until they are nearly overflowing.

Cover your pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes top each pepper with another slice of provolone cheese. Bake uncovered another 8-10 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.

Note: I added a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce to mine once I added my roast beef to the onions and mushrooms.

It's All Greek to Me

I am writing tonight tucked up in my new Sunbeam Electric Throw! I will be wearing this everywhere until spring. Now I just need to find an extension cord long enough. It is cold here with a capital C and we are not expected to make it out of the teens all week. I am trying to figure out of I need to leave the house before Friday night for Keely's skiing at the Double H Ranch.

We had a wonderful day today. We celebrated the 2nd birthday of a very special little boy at the Children's Museum at Saratoga.  It is such a great space. So many different activities for the children to do. Keely spent quite a bit of time in the Cafe. She loved cooking, taking orders, handing out checks. She was a regular Flo and just need a "kiss my grits". (I bet that just aged me! Ok 41, I am 41.) She also really liked the fire truck.  My nieces Joy and Elise loved it too!

My Mommy is in town for two weeks. I am very excited to be spending time with her.  That is another one of those silver linings about losing my job last year.  I get to see my mom all day when she is in town.

Dinner tonight was Chicken Gyro Burgers with Tzatziki sauce. I love Gyros! They are my fair food of choice.  In fact, it is what I get everyday I am at the fair. No matter how many days I go. I think the cold has me craving summer.  To me nothing says summer like a day at the fair. This is sort of an amalgam of all the Gyro and Tzatziki recipes I have tried over the years and now it is my own.

Chicken Gyro Burgers with Tzatziki sauce

1 package of Perdue Ground Chicken Patties  (4 4oz patties)
4 pita pockets
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp plus 1 tbsp garlic powder (or one clove finely chopped garlic)
2 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup finely diced cucumber
1 tomato
remaining cucumber sliced thin
olive oil

Spoon Greek yogurt into a bowl.  Add lemon juice, cucumber and 1 tbsp of garlic powder or fresh garlic if you prefer. Mix to combine and place in refrigerator to chill until ready to use.

In a small bowl combine cumin, paprika, oregano, Seasoned Salt and 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.  Generously apply seasoning mixture to both sides of chicken patties.  In a flat skillet heat olive oil (just enough to keep chicken patties from sticking. Cook patties over medium high heat 5 minutes per side (or until cooked through if you have chosen to make your own patties)

Remove chicken patties from heat.  Split pita to create pocket. Insert chicken patty, cucumber slices, diced tomato and tzatziki sauce.

Notes:

1. I cut my burger into thin strips and assembled my "burger" like a taco on top of the pita then folded the entire thing in half.  
2. You can also mix the spice blend with ground chicken and 1 egg to form your own patties.  If you make your own patties please note that cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your burger.  As a rule poultry needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.   
3. Finally, if you choose, brown ground chicken and spice blend as you would taco meat.  I like to do this and toast pita triangles to make Gyro Nachos. It is nice with a little feta cheese and black olives.  

Baby It's Cold Outside

So, to say it is cold outside is an understatement... it is positively frigid up here in the great white north! The weather app on my phone tells me the temperature is 1. ONE!!!!! I don't even want to stick my hand out the door to get the mail out of the mail box.

My big project for today is to de-Christmas-fy my house. All things Christmas are to be put away with the exception of the lights on my archway. (I call them fairy lights and then I can keep them up all year.) So out with the Santas and in with the Snowmen in the Milligan household and since we will most likely have ground cover here until mid March the snowmen stick around a while. 

Once that is done I need to prepare for my Girl Scout meeting tonight. I know nothing like waiting until the last minute. We are going to start getting ready for World Thinking Day in February. Our country this year is Russia. So the girls will need to come up with some information for our display and decide on what food to make for everyone to try. Lucky for me the meetings take place at my house so I still can avoid going outside today. 

I thought I would share my Chili recipe with you for those who are interested. Sharing a recipe that is uniquely mine is tough because I am a cook by taste person and not really a measuring person (which is why I can't bake, all baking done at Chez Milligan is done by Mr. Milligan). 

Kim's Famously Delicious Chili

1 pound lean ground beef

2 packets taco seasoning

3 cans beans of your choosing (light pink kidney, cannelini, black, pinto, garbanzo, butter, etc) 

1 large jar mild salsa (I don't do spicy foods so if you do use hot salsa) 

1 large can crushed tomatoes

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

Brown ground beef in stock pot with taco seasoning. Once meat is browned, drain and add beans to pot, add salsa, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and onion powder. Stir and cook on low heat at least 3-4 hours uncovered. Should make 8-10 cups of chili. 

Thats it. You see why I make this at least 3 times a month in the winter. 

You can also brown the ground beef and put everything in a crock pot and cook on low. The longer it cooks the better.