Blackberry Glazed Ham

I love ham. Not so wild about pork chops, ironically, but ham, bacon, prosciutto --everything in that family is great. So when I bought a ham this week, I was excited to roast it with a root beer glaze, something I had tried with pork chops before with great success (I still need to post that particular recipe...sorry, folks).

Anyway, when I got up this morning, I found the last can of root beer on the table. Empty.

I could have run to the store, but honestly, just for a can of soda? Instead I decided to come up with another recipe. I didn't have any apple juice, either, so that eliminated a lot of things I came across.

Then I started thinking about what I did have--and liked combining. I came up with a Blackberry Maple Mustard glaze that smelled heavenly and tasted great. I glazed the ham during the last hour, baking it uncovered for that last bit of time, and also boiled the extra glaze, to make a thick, sweet dipping sauce. On the ham, the glaze was nice and thick and caramelized nicely.

Yummy :-) I loved it, and think I might do my Christmas ham this way, too. Or some variation (though I still want to try the root beer glaze on ham). It's very easy, and I am sure would work fine with other kinds of berry jam:

Shirley's Blackberry Maple Mustard Glaze

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon mustard powder (I substitute mustard itself when I am out of this)

1/2 cup blackberry preserves/jam

That's it! I tasted it as I mixed it, and adjusted the mustard a bit. Baste the ham in the last hour of cooking, then put any extra glaze in a pan and reduce it down for a dipping sauce.

I served this with homemade mashed potatoes, and creamed corn (we were out of other veggies too. Clearly someone needs to go to the grocery store around here, LOL). Thumbs up from everyone in the family for this one.

Shirley

Two Great New Dinners

I had pictures of these, but accidentally deleted them from my Blackberry before I sent them to myself (silly Shirley!). Trust me--they both looked yummy!

The first dish was from an Ocean Spray ad. They have this whole series of recipes created by Tyler Florence, whose recipes I always like :-). I made the Chicken Tenderloins with Cranberry Mustard Sauce, except I used chicken breasts instead of tenderloins (I really don't like tenderloins because they have that weird tendon thing running down the middle of them and when you try to cut it out, you end up with like zero chicken).

I had a heck of a time trying to find Craisins at Meijer. I don't know what is up with that store lately, but nothing ever seems to be in a logical spot. The Craisins weren't in the canned and dried fruit aisle. Weren't in the snack aisle. Weren't in the baking products aisle (although I found raisins...what was up with that?). They did have a display of raisins and some kind of industrial size bag of Craisins in the veggie section. I didn't need twenty pounds of Craisins, just a small bag.

Finally found them tucked in the dark corner behind the Starbuck's that's inside the store. Oh yeah. FIRST place I'd look.

Anyway, I made this recipe, just using slightly more of all the ingredients to account for the fact that I used six chicken breasts instead of the pound of tenderloins. The sauce was good--a tad mustardy, so next time I'd use just a tiny bit less. Like a teaspoon less. And extra Craisins would be good too. They were the best part, IMO.

Also, because I used chicken breasts instead of tenderloins, I browned them, then baked them at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes while I made risotto to accompany the chicken. It's the same method I use to make Emeril's Pan Roasted Chicken. It works well and if you don't overcook the chicken, it stays moist.

The second recipe I made this week came from a Rachael Ray magazine. I love Chinese food and I love mangoes, so when I saw Teriyaki Pork and Mango Stir-Fry, I thought it sounded really good.

Stir-fry, IMO, is one of those things that seems simple, but always involves more work than you anticipate ;-). This one doesn't have a ton of ingredients (pork, flour, salt, cabbage, oil, garlic, ginger, teriyaki sauce and mangoes) so it wasn't as involved as some things I've made.

I didn't put bean sprouts on top like the recipe called for because I hate bean sprouts, LOL. But other than that, I did it was recommended. It was good...but one of those dishes that you try and at first are like, eh, okay. Then you have another bite, and another, and before you know it you're...going back for seconds and thirds ;-) I ate way too much of this. It's the crispiness of the pork mixed with the mangoes that was great.

FWIW, I've found that cornstarch makes a good breading for Chinese food. I might try that next time.

Shirley

Paula's Yummy Enchiladas

I made a recipe my friend gave me the other day and it was a huge hit with everyone in the house. My daughter, who LOVES Mexican food, particularly burritos and enchiladas, went back for seconds, and had the leftovers the next day. The only change I made was to add some cheese to the beef mixture (and also top it with cheese as instructed) because we love cheese ;-)

For me, this recipe made two 13" X 9" pans of enchiladas--I think it was about 12 or 14. They were eaten pretty fast, LOL, so I didn't really pay much attention. Because I had so many, I used extra enchilada sauce, too. So here is Paula's recipe, with the amounts I used added by me :-)

Paula's Enchiladas

2 packages soft tortilla shells ( I like the corn but the flour are bigger usually and the rest of the fam likes them better)
1 can Enchilada sauce
1 can Cream of mushroom soup (i know, sounds weird but it works)
1 pound Ground Beef or Ground turkey
1 can refried beans
grated cheese (any kind you want, I usually use the "mexican blend" or cheddar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the beef, heat the shells in the microwave to make them soft. LIGHTLY coat the bottom of a flat baking pan with the enchillada sauce. Mix the soup and cooked beef and refried beans in a bowl. [I added cheese here, about 3/4 of a cup of shredded Mexican blend]. Lay the tortillas and spoon in your mixture. Roll them. Place them in the pan and then use a spoon to spoon over a light coat of the echillada sauce over each tortilla. Then apply cheese generously :) Wrap baking pan in foil , then just before they are done take off foil for another couple of minutes.

You can pretty much wing it on the baking time as its already cooked you just need to heat it up and make the cheese melt. [all together, I think mine spent about 20 minutes in the oven; just until everything was bubbly and the cheese was all melty].

Thanks to Paula for a fabulous recipe that I'll definitely be making again! She was right about the soup--you don't taste it in the final product; it just adds that extra creaminess factor. I use the same kind of thing in my Mexican Catalina Bake.

Enjoy!

Shirley

Chicken with Gnocchi Dumplings

A couple weeks ago, I made chicken with dumplings--the Tyler Florence recipe, which was highly rated by my whole family and definitely on my To Do Again list. So when I came across another type of chicken and dumpling recipe, I was a little hesitant to try it.



But it did use gnocchi, which is one of my all-time favorite things to eat (though not something I have made from scratch...at least with potatoes. For one, mashed potatoes rarely last long enough to become leftovers here, and for another, it just seemed like a lot of effort, LOL, when I can just buy them already made at Meijer). But I have made Ricotta Gnocchi, which I LOVE.



So I thought I'd give it a shot. DH had already cooked all the chicken (he barbecued it the other day), so although it was a tad barbecue flavor, it was ready to use. I just cut off the barbecued outside, to reduce the barbecue flavor.



I based my recipe off a Rachael Ray recipe I saw in the magazine. I adapted mine slightly just to use up what I happened to have in the fridge, and also to make it closer to the other recipe I had made before.



Chicken with Gnocchi Dumplings



1/2 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup flour
salt
pepper
2 cups cooked chicken
1 cup half and half
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 small bag frozen peas and carrots
1 package already-made gnocchi
1 tablespoon fresh parsley



Cook the onion and pepper in 4 tablespoons of butter. Add the chicken and stir, until warmed through. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and then flour, and S&P to taste. Stir until everything is coated with flour, then add liquids and stir. Boil sauce one minute, until thick and bubbly. (I might have added extra broth...I don't really measure when I make a white sauce, I just add liquid until it's the consistency I want; so if it's too thick, add more broth).



Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt well. Add gnocchi and cook per package directions.



Stir peas and carrots into chicken mixture. Add cooked gnocchi. Top with minced parsley. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.


Serve! ;-)



I also made a great enchilada recipe the other day that was gone so fast, there were no pictures, LOL. I'll share that soon. I've got several other things on tap this week--chicken with cranberry mustard sauce, a stir fry, and rice pancakes. And maybe pork with blackberry sauce, depending on how much time I have to cook this week.



Shirley

A Day for Soup

My daughter is sick (just a cold, not the flu). She requested I make homemade chicken noodle soup. Apparently the Tomato Tortellini Soup the other day wasn't enough, LOL.

So, being a good mommy, I roasted some whole chicken breasts, got some stock I'd made before out of the freezer, and made homemade chicken noodle soup, complete with the thick Inn-Maid noodles she likes.

She's having her second or third bowl right now :-)

Then for dinner, she wanted Chicken and Dumplings, and I had just caught Tyler Florence's version on Tyler's Ultimate. So when I was done with the soup, I took the bones from the roasted chicken and made another stock (using Ina Garten's recipe, which is hands-down the best stock recipe I've ever encountered). Then used that to make the Tyler Florence Chicken and Dumplings.

FYI, his recipe calls for buttermilk, something I rarely have on hand (why can't they sell TEENY ones of that, like they do heavy cream? I always end up wasting so much of it). Anyway, I have the powdered buttermilk mix, which works just great, IMO.

No picture of the chicken and dumplings because my family was, quite literally, lined up at the stove the second I turned it off. We ate the whole pot in one night :-).

If you're interested, here's what I put in my chicken noodle soup:

Shirley's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

2 whole chicken breasts, roasted at 375 degrees until cooked through, then meat is shredded
2 celery sticks
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups homemade chicken stock
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 package Inn-Maid egg noodles

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven. Add vegetables, cook until wilted. Add stock and bay leaves (I don't add other seasonings because my stock recipe is pretty well seasoned). Add freshly ground pepper and salt as needed to taste.

When vegetables are cooked through, add shredded chicken. Bring soup to a boil, add noodles and cook until noodles are tender--about 8 minutes or so.

The key to a great soup is the stock, IMO. A lot of people I know don't like to make homemade chicken (or beef) stock, but honestly it makes such a HUGE difference, it's worth it. If I don't make it the day I roast a chicken, then I save the bones in a bag in the freezer and make it later. It's truly an easy thing to make, and you just freeze the stock in small quantities (I do 1-cup, 2-cup and one big 6-cup; I generally make two batches of stock at once. I find the variety of sizes makes it easy when I need a cup for a recipe).

I love, love, love, Ina Garten's recipe for stock, as I mentioned. I love pretty much everything she makes. Her cookbooks are on my Christmas list, for sure (the only one I own is Barefoot Contessa At Home). And did you know, you can get them AUTOGRAPHED? That's what I want, cooking geek that I am. Sadly, I don't think my family reads my blog, LOL.

Anyway, soup is perfect for a cold, icky day!

Shirley

Quick and Easy and Yummy: Soup

Last night, I wanted something quick and easy and good for my daughter's cold. I love soup, particularly nice hearty soups, and opted to make the Tomato Tortellini I have made before. DD really wanted chicken noodle, but homemade chicken noodle isn't exactly a speedy soup, LOL. So I promised that for next week.

With the Tomato Tortellini Soup, I didn't have any fresh basil on hand, but did have these cool frozen chopped basil cubes I bought at Trader Joe's (I LOVE THAT STORE. Why won't they bring one to my city? And while they're at it, a Whole Foods. SIGH). They worked out great.

So if you're looking for something quick and easy, try this soup. One tip--if you want the soup to look red and tomato-y at the end, reserve the tomato sauce and cream until after you have blended the soup, then add them. It'll add that extra boost of red that gets blended in when you whirr up the spinach.

Enjoy!

Shirley

Cinnamon Honey Roasted Butternut Squash

I love butternut squash--love all kinds of squash, actually--but my family (especially the kids)...not so much, LOL. Same with asparagus. I could eat it every week, but my kids would rather not.

Then I saw a recipe for cinnamon honey roasted butternut squash, and thought about adding asparagus and pecans to that recipe. How yummy would that be? VERY, it turns out. I loved it, DH loved it and one of the two kids did (the other one was just being grumpy, I think, because she's getting a cold). Anyway, it's SUPER simple and would make a good Thanksgiving side dish.

Cinnamon-Honey Roasted Butternut Squash

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 bunch asparagus, chopped (I don't use the last three or four inches of the stalks; too bitter, IMO)

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I microwaved the squash chunks until they were fork tender (because otherwise this dish would bake for an hour). Drained them, then added the asparagus and pecans. Mix the sauce ingredients, then mix with the vegetables. Roast for 20 minutes (or until everything is tender).

That's it! Very easy, and I loved it so much, I had more for lunch today :-)

Shirley

One of those days...

Sigh. Today is one of those days when all I want to do is eat cookies and ice cream and vegetate. I did work out (half-heartedly, I must admit) and so far have been good in my food choices, because I've got to undo the damage done by one too many burgers with friends during the conference I went to last week.

I've got plans for a healthy dinner...now to find the motivation to make it and eat it, LOL.

Shirley

A Favorite Salad

Today, I made one of my favorite salads--so perfect for those crisp fall days. I didn't have any pears (well, I *thought* I didn't have any pears, then finished eating my salad and remembered I just bought pears yesterday. Duh. I need more sleep or coffee or something, LOL). I love the dressing--an easy, quick mix of 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Couldn't be easier to make.

This is an older photo of this salad, and doesn't show the nuts I usually toss on it. The candied walnuts are something I use pretty often, and so I keep a batch in my freezer. They add that little bit of yummy crunch :-)

Shirley

Playing Detective

Last week, I went to the Novelists, Inc. conference in St. Louis. Day one was a "Ninc Does Forensics" all-day series of workshops on crime, which was unbelievably cool. A whole host of experts came to the event, including the Sheriff's officer and FBI agent who broke the Shawn Hornbeck case (fascinating stuff!). And then there was the crime scene investigation, which was a neat test of our observation skills.

Skills I apparently don't have in abundance, which is why I'm not a cop. ;-) During lunch, we were allowed to investigate a staged crime scene that an officer from the Sheriff's office set up. It looked pretty simple--a dead body (a dummy) on the floor, with a knife in her chest. A couple of empty beer bottles on the table, along with some drug paraphanelia. And an incriminating note in the victim's hand.

That was what I saw, at least at first. But as I went around the crime scene with the other authors in the room, I saw more--mostly because other people were saying, "hey, did you see this?"

Three bullet casings on the floor. A bloody handprint on the wall by the door. Two bullet holes in the wall. There was an overturned trash can by the body, and the more observant authors were shining lights in there, trying to determine what evidence might be in the trash can. I hadn't thought to do that, but then again, I'm as far from a cop as one can get, LOL.

But what I learned was the difference in observatory skills among us. Some people merely walked in the room, saw the "body," then they were done. Others went over the entire crime scene with the fervor of a member of CSI. And some were like me--in the middle of those two extremes--basically there to learn what we could.

One thing I can say for sure is how much this small, and simple crime scene made me appreciate the work of real-world Crime Scene Investigators. Just the half hour or so I spent there made me see how much detail work is involved in that job. How critical it is that they see everything while they are there. Because once the CSI people leave, the crime scene is cleaned up (as the hotel room was where our mock scene was staged), and the evidence is gone forever.

Their job is complex and difficult, to be sure. And so much more is riding on them than there was on a bunch of authors standing over a dummy. After that day, I knew I could never be a real-life CSI, but just the taste I had of playing one made me want to learn more.

What about you? Could you do that job? Are you meticulous enough to be an effective CSI?

Shirley

THE WELL in stores today! And blog post!

THE WELL is in stores today! And just for fun, Mandy and I did a "Ten Random Things about AJ Whitten" blog post, too. You can read it here.

Look for the book in a store near you!

Shirley

First Official Signing for THE WELL

My daughter and I had our first official book signing for THE WELL last night. It was a blast! We had a nice steady stream of people buying the book (and not just friends, LOL). Pics and story are here.

Look for the book in stores nationwide September 21!

Shirley

Featured in the Austin Examiner

Sylvia Dickey Smith at the Austin Writing Examiner did a piece on me and THE WELL today. Check it out if you have a second!

Shirley

Finding the Fun in Fitness

I'm blogging over at Love is an Exploding Cigar today about how fitness can be fun (okay, sort of ;-) and the before and after results of my four and a half months on the elliptical machine!

Shirley