If you’ve read my bio, you know that my family has a race car.  During racing season, we live in our motorhome at whatever track we’re at.  Here’s the crew having dinner in our pit:

I have to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a crew of between 5 and 10 people on a race weekend (which is 3 to 5 days).  One of the last trips we were on, I took ground beef to make hamburgers.  For some unknown reason, I took too much ground beef.  I didn’t want to waste it, so this is the recipe I came up with.  I had cooked some caramelized onions and sautéed some mushrooms to go on the hamburgers the night before and had some left over.  I also had some barbecue sauce that some of us put on the hamburgers.  So, I just started grabbing leftovers and throwing them in the meatloaf – everything, but the kitchen sink!  My motorhome has a convection oven, so baking is easy.

I have to tell you, I don’t like cold meatloaf or mushrooms, and I ate this like there was no tomorrow!  The only thing I would do differently is chop the mushrooms.  They were just a little too big left whole.  Otherwise, it was a hit with the crew for lunch sandwiches and had a great flavor.

Kitchen Sink Meatloaf

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 cup caramelized onions

1/4 cup sautéed mushrooms

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons ketchup, plus extra for the top

2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 slice of bread, crust removed

1/4 cup milk

Put all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix with your hands until all the ingredients are well mixed together.  Form a meatloaf shape.  Place in pan and spread some ketchup on top.  You can use barbecue sauce in place of the ketchup.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Serve hot or cold in sandwiches.

I had the good fortune of being a “Guest Blogger” on The Ranting Chef’s blog.  It’s one of my favorites.  I submitted a family recipe that my mother used to make and I still make now.  Please visit The Ranting Chef to see my guest “appearance” and get the recipe.

http://rantingchef.com/2013/03/15/guest-post-baked-pork-chops-and-apples/

   I thought my kitchen was organized, but when I took a good hard look, I discovered it wasn’t so much.  It was to an extent, but needed some attention.  Even though it wasn’t too bad, there were some problem areas.  Spots that would get disorganized very quickly.  So, I started with my storage containers.

I’m a nut for containers.  I hate to throw away a container that might be good for some kind of storage.  So, imagine my surprise when I emptied the cabinet and had over 50 plastic cold cut tubs!  And I had more lids than containers!  How does that happen?  I decided that I didn’t need more than 5, so I gave the rest to my husband for the garage and told him to put whatever he didn’t need in the recycle bin.

Using the internet and Pinterest for ideas, I got to work.  My favorite idea was to use a dish drying rack to store the lids.  I  could put them in by size, they were contained, and I used the cutlery holder for the small lids.

I put the small loose containers into a bin.  It’s easy to pull out when I need something.

TA DA! Finished!  And I even found space for my new food sealer that I got for Christmas from my daughter.

(That’s one of my dogs’ tails in the picture.  They always have to be in the action.)

Here are 2 before pictures:

Not so bad, but I always need the item on the bottom of the stack!   I’d have to empty the cabinet to get it.

And I’m short, so most of this was being done over my head or on a stool which made it a little precarious.

And this needs no explanation! It was the same problem as above.  I had to empty the cabinet to get what I needed and put it back.  So, it was just easier to shove it in and slam the door before it all fell out!  ;)

After:

I used racks to stand up all my trays, serving plates, and baking sheets.  I used 2 racks one in the front and one in the back lined up.  (You might want to anchor these to the bottom with tape because they will move around.)  Using the 2 racks also made it possible to store the smaller pans one in front of the other.  Now, I can just grab what I need.

I moved all my baking items to the larger cabinet.  I used a rack to stand up the more used pans for easy access.  I moved the large cake and pie containers to the pantry for easier access.

     I forgot to take a picture of the before, but this is the after shot of my “cup” cabinet.  Before, I had all the mugs (and I have a LOT of mugs) stacked on top of each other.  This made it difficult to grab one because it was easy to knock one over.  I put all the serving supplies on the top shelf.  I moved that shelf up because the items didn’t need the height.  I put the thermoses (which had been in the container cabinet) and the travel mugs together.  and I used the wire shelves so I didn’t have to stack the mugs on top of each other.   Like the plastic containers, I did part with a few mugs (ok, a lot of  mugs).  

   With the reorganization of the cabinets, I actually have more space in the remaining cabinets.  Remember the before picture of the glass baking pans?  Right now, I’m only using one shelf!  The other two are empty!  But, I’ll fill them soon, because I have some more cabinets to organize.  That will be another post.

I started with my jewelry.  I make jewelry as a hobby and if you make jewelry, you know that you always need another bracelet or necklace to go with a certain outfit because your other fifty pieces of jewelry just won’t match.  So, as a result, I have many, many bracelets and necklaces.

I do have a jewelry box, but it’s small and doesn’t have a place for necklaces.  So, I bought a small decorative suitcase at a craft store (with a coupon so it was inexpensive). Mine is 10-inches wide, 14-inches high, and 5-inches deep.  I picked up 16 cup hooks and screwed them (well…my husband did it for me) into the inside of the suitcase.  I spaced them out evenly with some screwed into the top (the suitcase is standing on its side) and some screwed into the back.  Stagger the hooks in the back in between the hooks in the top.  This holds my short and medium necklaces neatly.

For my long necklaces, I bought two hook racks at the local dollar store.  Mine are 15 1/2-inches long.  I screwed them (well…my husband did it for me, again) one above the other onto a blank space on my closet wall.  But, if you don’t have a good space in your closet, then it will look great out in the open on your bedroom wall, too.  These were staggered, too.

Since I have so many bracelets, I couldn’t even close the jewelry box lid anymore!  I bought a standing paper towel holder.  This one had three arms, but a holder with one arm will do.  I place my bracelets over the arms.  Simple as that!  They are easy to see, now, and I can close the lid of my jewelry box.

Okay, so I didn’t get much exercise with that project.  I’m starting slow.

Now, on to the kitchen…

I was given some freshly caught (and cleaned) Black Sea Bass by a friend.  It looked and smelled so wonderful that I couldn’t wait to cook it.  So, here’s my recipe.  It was delicious if I do say so myself!  Thanks, Jeff!

2 fillets of Black Sea Bass (I’m sure this would work with other white fish, too)

¼ cup milk

¼ cup flour

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter

half a lemon, cut into 4 wedges

1 small clove garlic, minced

Salt

Pepper

Parsley

Soak the fillets in the milk for about 10 minutes.

While they are soaking and just before you are ready to cook the fish, mix the olive oil, butter, and garlic in a large sauté pan.  Squeeze 1 wedge of lemon in the pan.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Heat over medium-high heat.

Lightly dredge the fillets in the flour.  It should be a light coating, not caked.  Once the oil it hot, add the fillets to the pan. Don’t crowd the pan.  If you are doubling the recipe, cook the fillets in batches.  Cook the fillets for about 3 minutes, then turn and cook about another 3 minutes.  The cooking time will be determined by the thickness of the fillet.  The fillets should be golden brown on the outside and white and flaky inside.

To serve, place the fillets on a plate and season with salt and pepper.  Squeeze 1 of the remaining wedges of lemon on top.  Sprinkle with some parsley and serve with the remaining 2 lemon wedges.

Serves 2

Have a Happy New Year!

We all love those holiday meal leftovers!  But, if you’re like me, I’m still full the next day.  Here is a light, but satisfying way to enjoy that leftover turkey.

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

64 oz. chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 diced potato (or sweet potato)

½ uncooked egg noodles

3 cups cooked turkey meat

Pinch of parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, brown the garlic lightly.  Add the onion, carrot, and celery.  Cook until onion is translucent.  Add broth and bay leaf and bring to simmer.  Add the potato and noodles.  Cook at a simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the turkey meat, parsley, salt and pepper, if needed, and cover.  Turn off the heat and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

*If you have other left over vegetables, like corn or green beans, you can add those, too.

*If your turkey needs a little more flavor, you can add a pinch of rosemary, sage, or thyme.

Serves 6

This is a project I did with my grandchildren.  While I did the cutting and gluing, they did the tearing and sticking – the fun part.  When the sun hits these, they are simply stunning.

Supplies: Tissue paper in fall colors (you don’t need much, so any scraps you may have will work just fine), brown cardstock, cardstock (any color), clear sticky-backed shelf liner (don’t use “repositionable”), scissors, glue.

1. Print a leaf pattern of your choice onto the cardstock (not the brown).  You need to have them large enough to cut out the inside to form a frame for the colored tissue.  You can find templates online or trace a leaf from your yard, or cut out a picture of a leaf and trace it onto the cardstock.  Make several different sizes and shapes.

2. Cut out the leaf template, inside edge and outside edge.

3. Trace the leaf onto the brown cardstock.  Use different shades of brown for variety.

4. For each leaf suncatcher, cut two leaves out the brown to make the  leaf frame and set aside.  Make sure to reverse the template for the second leaf.  These are the front and back frames for the suncatcher.

5. Tear the tissue paper into small pieces.  They should be varying shapes and sizes.  It’s okay if the wrinkle.

6. Cut two squares of the sticky-backed shelf liner slightly larger than the leaf frame.  Peel the backing off of one and stick the pieces of tissue paper in a random pattern to the square.  Make sure to overlap the pieces to give the stained glass effect and vary the depth of the colors.

7. When the square if full of tissue, peel the backing off the second square and carefully adhere it to the top of the tissue paper to make a “sandwich” of tissue between the two squares of shelf-liner.

8. Glue one of the leaf frames to the square.  Cut around the leaf to remove the excess tissue paper.

9. Glue the second leaf frame to the back.  Trim if necessary.

10.  Punch a hole in the top for a string hanger or tape to the window.

11.  Go find a sunny window and hang up your suncatcher!

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly “hands around.”

 Author: George Cooper

Since I don’t like to eat fresh tomatoes, I decided to make tomato sauce from the Roma tomatoes I grew in my garden.  Wow!  Was that a good idea!  I served it over Penne tossed with fresh vegetable and spices.  There were no leftovers!  Below is the link to the recipe I used for the sauce pictured.  I’ve included a couple other links for different sauces for variety.

This is the recipe I used.  The sauce is made from fresh Roma’s with the skins left on and removed from the sauce at the end. - http://kitchenrunway.com/pasta-with-fresh-roma-tomato-sauce/

This is a slow cooker marinara - http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011/11/slow-cooker-marinara-515-recipe-040.html

This is a chunky sauce - http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2008/09/tomato-sauce.html

This is a smooth sauce with the tomato skins removed first - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-tomato-sauce-i/

 The start of the sauce.

To make this dish, I cooked a pound of Penne.  While that was cooking, I sauteed zucchini, yellow squash, onion, and pepper in a skillet with butter and olive oil.  Near the end of cooking, I added some slices of Italian sausage and fresh basil and oregano from my garden.  Salt and pepper to taste.   Top with tomato sauce.  Sprinkle some grated Parmesan and red pepper flakes if desired.  Serve with crusty bread.