Friday, June 19, 2009

Whose Idea Was This Anyway?

I had a hotdog for lunch. Complete with mustard, sweet relish, and Cheetos. The only thing that kept lunch from being a balanced meal...no chocolate. So, yogurt was on the menu for me this evening, and I intended for Sam to raid the refrigerator...there's one delicious serving of a hamburger and rice dish I've thrown together...since forever. That with salad was going to be the offering for Sam.

THIS is what happened. Carol is out of town. Elton was going to be in our neck of the woods checking on supplies at the local lumber/hardware store to compare prices with one of the big stores. He called Sam. Sam and I were in the same room and could very easily make eye contact. Sam asked him when Carol would be home. Got the answer. Looked at me and asked, "What's for supper?" I shrugged, looked at him (NOTHING was between us to block his view), and said, "Not much." He told Elton, "Sherry said to come on over, that she'd fix supper. Bye."

I am flabbergasted. I said, "That is NOT what I said. I am having yogurt and you are having the last of the hamburger and rice and there's not enough for you and Elton." It was his turn to shrug his shoulders. Left the room with the lame excuse that he needed to go to the bathroom.

Humphf.

Just as Elton got here, I was putting chicken breasts - that I intended to cook tomorrow - in the oven to roast. If it hadn't been for them, I would've sent the guys to town to eat and I would've had my yogurt.

Would you believe that I really and truly did forget to cook rice? Tomorrow's menu was going to be:
Roasted Chicken Breasts
Buttermilk Gravy
Rice
Salad

We had:
Roasted Chicken Breasts
Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
A hastily opened can of hominy
Salad (overkill on the greens, but remember I was going to eat yogurt so left the cheese stuff alone)
Ice cream

Oh! And a loaf of homemade bread fresh from the machine. ;o) Can't forget that. I really, really shot the planned yogurt supper!

How about some recipes?! I haven't posted any in a while.

Someone gave this recipe to Mama many years ago. We thought it sounded good, but had never really done much cooking with thyme. We're country people and don't hold to them fancy herbs. ;o) It was decided that I would cook it first. If Ron, my first husband, would eat it...it would pass. His name should've been Mikey...He liked it!

Hamburger and Rice with a Little Thyme

1 pound ground beef...not fatty but not too lean...you'll want some flavor!
1 chopped onion
1 or 2 cloves of minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
2 or 3 pinches of thyme
1 can tomatoes, drained but reserve juice
1 cup rice
Enough water added to tomato juice to make 2 cups

Brown ground beef with onions and garlic. Season to taste. Stir in tomatoes. Add the 2 cups of liquid and stir. When it simmers, cover with a lid, turn heat down as low as it'll go and cook for 20 minutes. Don't peek! IF you must, wait at least 15 minutes. And if you do peek, you might as well give it a quick stir.

I looked at my earlier posts and can't beiieve I haven't posted this delicious gravy recipe! The only time I make it is when we have roasted chicken and rice.

Buttermilk Gravy

1 cup chicken broth (I pour 1 cup water in the roasting pan to make certain I have broth for this. Sometimes I have to add a bit of water to get the 1 cup back.)
1/4 cup buttermilk
3-4 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper to taste

Heat chicken broth. Whisk flour into buttermilk and whisk into chicken broth. Season. Heat until thickened...just barely simmer. DO NOT BOIL THIS! It will not get thicker but seems to break down the buttermilk and it's not as good. If it doesn't get as thick as you want, dip out a small amount of the thin gravy and whisk in another tablespoon of flour. Pour that into your gravy and heat until thick.

Take notice!!!! This is my 198th post. I will be having a giveaway for the 200th post. And I know exactly what it will be! Just two posts to go before the announcement.

The giveaway for my 100th post was a patch for a motorcycle vest like this:

You have sooooo much to look forward to! Bwahahahha

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