Fence Building Day 1 & 2

In preparation of getting Mikita in a few weeks, we decided to fence in the back yard.

We can't let this cute get lost can we?

After much deliberation, we decided to build this thing ourselves. We have a lot of back yard and would save a lot of money doing it ourselves. So we took two days to dig the corner posts and the post by the house. We knew we would have to hand dig the house posts. Especially since we were digging in my flower bed. We wanted to get the four corners in also so we weren't wasting time squaring up come next week. It was a really good thing we did too.

The first two posts were super easy. Travis and his dad are both perfectionists so they took a while, but they look good.

  

Side one looks really good.

Thom even came up to help.

 The first four holes went well and we ended for the day. We were glad we did them and we found out our plot map was wrong. The fence is twelve feet longer then originally planned.

We debated back and forth on finishing the other two holes on Friday. Travis and I were exhausted and we had a lot of other things to finish before Easter. In the end we decided to go ahead and get them done. That way I could make sure that my measurements were correct. I was going to need to order more supplies anyhow.

Thom thankfully came up again to help. Everything was going great until the last hole.

We hit a wire. We had previously called 811 and they cleared the entire backyard. We knew that was wrong because we knew the internet cable was back there but we had a pretty good idea of where it was since we watched them put it in. Nothing was supposed to be in the few feet of the backyard. Yet we hit what was obviously a phone line.

First we called 811 and they came back out. After they marked the phone line they also marked the internet line. We were less then six inches from hitting it with one of the posts we already had in. That was close. We were told that most likely the phone line was abandoned but we needed to wait until the phone company came out to confirm. We were also told that the line should never have been in our yard and should not have been only seven inches down.

So I then called AT&T. It took a long time to get an actual person. Apparently they only want to talk to their current customers when it comes to issues. I hate phone prompts that lead to seven other layers of phone prompts. I was told that even though I had the box number that the line came from they couldn't tell me if it was live or not. I was assured that someone would be out before eight. Since it was already six we decided to call it a day.

Eight pm rolls around and no tech. I called them back and after seven more prompts I finally talked to someone. I was informed that they were not sending out a tech and would hopefully have one on Saturday. I told them not to bother, I was cutting the line and finishing my hole.

We checked with all of our neighbors and no one has AT&T phone service. So we don't fell bad about cutting the line this week to finish our fence. We ordered the remaining items we need and will pick them up Sunday and finish the corner post Monday morning. Hopefully next weekend will go smoothly and we can finish the fence before Mikita gets here. Only three more weeks until our German Indian puppy arrives!

Whiskey BBQ Sliders

So I am way behind. I have barely cooked. But now all my studying is done (we hope) and I have started a normal life. This started with getting back into Sweet as Pie. This month there were two things I thought I'd try, but I only got around to one of them. I blame the huge amounts of snow and freezing weather. I made these Whiskey BBQ sliders while at mom's one evening before I tutored. Here is how it came together.

First my ingredients. I love Jack so this was exciting for me.

So first I took 2 lbs of beef and mixed it with Worcestershire and salt and pepper. Then I rolled them into 12 patties. I thought this might be too many for the 4 of us but I was very very wrong. In a skillet melt a lot of butter (hey this is a PW recipe). Then put the patties in to brown on both sides.

I was excited that they all fit in the pan.

Remember, just brown. They don't need to be all the way done.

 After the patties are done browning, remove them from the skillet and add a large diced onion.

After the onion, add 1/2 Whiskey. And by whisky I mean Jack Daniels. Because that is whiskey. I didn't have to turn off my flame as PW suggested, I have a flat cook stove. Let that reduce by half and then 2 cups BBQ. I just happened to have Jack. See a theme here. PW says to add jalapenos here. I dislike jalapenos. I would however suggest adding some hot sauce. We didn't and regretted it.

Reduce the heat to low and add the patties. Let the patties finish cooking. Then put the patties (and some sauce) onto slider buns.

Of the 12 sliders, there were only 3 left. And I blame that on my brother eating two hours before I cooked. This was awesome. Needed hot sauce and left a lot of extra sauce. I plan on reusing the sauce and it is currently in the freezer. This will be made a lot in my future, and my mom's.

Pot Roast, Scalloped Potatoes, and Olive Bread

Today is Sunday, and Travis' day off. I have been studying hard all weekend because I have another CPA test Tuesday. There is a football game and a hockey game. Plus we had to put our beloved cat Snickers down on Friday thanks to the rapidly advancing cancer. So I decided to make a real Sunday dinner. On the menu, Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread and Perfect Pot Roast as well as Mrs. Stoller's Kosher Scalloped Potatoes.  This is a recipe I picked up a long time ago from a friend's mom. She followed a Kosher diet and these are the potatoes she prepared to be eaten with meat dishes. I fell in love with it and can't get enough, though it takes a while to cook. I started this adventure at about 3:45 pm.

First I needed to bake my french bread for the Olive Cheese bread.

Thank goodness for Pillsbury.

While that baked. I started on the roast since it was going to need 3+ hours to cook. First step, finding a lid to the pot I was going to use. There has got to be a better way to figure out which lid goes with which pot. Once I had accomplished this task, I heated the olive oil. I love the smell of olive oil. Is that just me?

On a side note, I love this pepper.

While oil heats, salt and pepper the roast. Mine is 3lbs. Next I was to seer two onions cut in half and 6 to 8 carrots cut into pieces. I cheated. I used 1 cup diced onions and 16 baby carrots. Then I seared the edges of the meat.














Then everything goes into the pot with rosemary and thyme and enough beef stock to half cover the meat. Then cover the pot and cook at 275 for about 3 hours.

While this was cooking, I started on the potatoes. This way I can put everything in the fridge and just have to put them in the oven at the right moment, not hope my timing is right on preparation.

These potatoes in their original format were kosher. I use butter instead of a butter substitute so they are no longer kosher. Super good either way. Also, I hate mayo and I love these.

Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a pan. Then slowly add 1/2 cup flour until thick.

Then add 1/2 cup mayo (the real stuff) and 28 oz of chicken broth. Heat on low and stir until thick. By thick we mean all combined and beginning to thicken.

I only had 20 oz of chicken broth (apparently I missed counted for grocery day) so I used 8 oz of left over beef stock from the roast. Now I don't have waste!

Slice peeled potatoes into 1/2 inch slices. You will need between 5 and 10 potatoes. I usually place them in cold water while I wait for my sauce to get thick.

Layer sauce then potatoes into dish. I usually end up with 2 or 3 layers. Remember to end with potatoes. You are supposed to bake for 1 and 1/2 hours at 350. Because my roast is in at 275, I am baking at 310 for a little longer.

Next up, Olive Bread. This was one of our Sweet as Pie Cooking Club from April of last year. I didn't get around to it because 1. it was April and 2. because I didn't have a reason. Travis doesn't like olives. But everything I flip through my PW cookbook I see it. And it looks so good. So I planned making a half batch tonight. Travis can eat the other half of the french loaf. Because I can't read my own hand writing at the store and only ended up with 4 oz of olives (instead of 10 oz) I am cutting the recipe by 1/4 (kinda). Really need to work on reading recipes before grocery shopping.

Originally this called for 14.5 oz of black olives and 6 oz of green. Yuck to the green. Also, I am lazy and I picked up a 4 oz can of already sliced black olives. Instead of 2 green onions I will add just 1. These both need to be diced and put into a bowl with 2 tablespoons of softened butter, 1/8 cup of mayo, and 1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese (I may have used some Pepper Jack for a little kick).

I am really glad I quartered this recipe. It took up half the loaf. Now to just let everything finish baking!

The potatoes were as always, melt in your mouth delicious. The olive bread wasn't bad. I probably should have diced the olives. This is good for a party, but I won't make it just for us again. The pot roast was good, but nothing special. Next time I will probably use my crock pot recipe. Though in truth we don't have pot roast very often since Travis isn't a fan. I plan on taking my left overs to my brother and his roommates. They eat anything.

Delicious Chocolate Pie

Recipe two of my cooking Sunday is for Delicious Chocolate Pie. I got to pick this one for the Sweet as Pie Cooking Club. I happened to see it on a Pioneer Woman episode and said, hey I like chocolate. So I picked it for the month.

First up, melt 4 oz of unsweetened baking chocolate. I actually used the microwave like the recipe said instead of my normal double broiler. I just didn't want the extra dish to clean. Meanwhile I creamed two sticks of butter with 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar until fluffy.

I guess this counts as fluffy.

Then add the chocolate and 1 teaspoon vanilla. This is were I read I should be using the whisk attachment. Oops. There went trying to save dishes.

Good thing my whisk was clean.

Next add the four eggs five minutes apart. Yes I set the timer. When that was all done I put the filing in my graham cracker pie crust.

I am very glad I got the large crust.

Next for a two hour chill while I make dinner.

I ended up not getting to have pie after dinner. It was two days later by the time I got to try this. Travis had already eaten almost half the pie. Obviously he likes it. I like it too. Whip cream would be most welcome. I think on the way home tonight I will get some. This will get made again.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

So it has been a week of my feeling horrible, but now that I feel better I need to catch up on a lot of cooking. Between work and CPA review class, Travis and I need a lot of meals ready.

First up on my list today is Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup. I am not a tomato soup fan, but Travis is so I thought I would give it a try. It was certainly easy. First, dump everything in but the tortellini and cheese. I used a 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder instead of cloves, because it is easier. I used dried tomato paste, not chopped tomatoes because while Travis loves tomatoes, he doesn't like cooked chunks of them. I also realized that I did not have any Italian Seasoning (I cleaned out my spice shelf of all the outdated items and this was one). So I made my own by mixing 1 teaspoon each of oregano, marjoram, basil, sage, and rosemary with a heaping teaspoon of thyme and a pinch of mint. This made a little more then a tablespoon.

After this came to a simmer I added the tortellini and let it cook for another 10 min.

I tried a taste and surprisingly it wasn't bad. Not that I would eat a bowl. Travis thought it wasn't bad but hasn't had a bowl. I was disappointed that it made so little. Three 2 cup bowls. I put two in the freezer for later and one in the fridge for this week. We will see how he likes it.

Travis liked it but thinks that it needs more tortellini. Next time I will either get a bigger box or add two.

Caramel S'more Cups

So after spending three hours cleaning the bathrooms, I needed chocolate. Travis ate the last of the death by chocolate last night, so I decided to make the Caramel S'more Cups I picked for Sweet as Pie this month. Then to settle down to reruns of Big Bang Theory. Oh Sheldon.

First I needed to grease 36 mini-muffin cups. At this point I remembered that I need to buy more tins, I have 24 mini-muffin cups. First I made the chocolate chip cookie dough. I used the Betty Crocker mix like the recipe instructed, because I was too lazy to make it from scratch.

An egg and a stick of butter is so much easier then from scratch.

I used a teaspoon to make my balls.

Then into the oven for 8 minutes. While I waited I unwrapped the Rolos. Despite my love for caramels, I have never had a Rolo.

Our of the oven I added a Rolo to the center and 3 mini marshmallows on top.

Back to the oven for a few minutes. Then they needed to cool for 30 minutes. Instead of baking the rest of the dough into s'more cups, I baked them into cookies. 

After they cooled,  I added the chocolate glaze.

I say yummy and easy. I plan on making these again.

Country Quiche

So now that life has slowed down I finally had time to make one of the recipes from Sweet as Pie. I made the country quiche because I like quiche and it looked easy. I took pictures, but due to technically difficulties none of them will load. Anyway, here is how it came together. I browned the sausage (note, this takes longer then the 10 minutes the recipe says). I then added the rest of the ingredients, but instead of tomatoes I added 2 cups of frozen potatoes.

After mixing the ingredients together I decided to add 4 more eggs, because really 6 was not enough. I baked as instructed. I had a slice and decided that 1 pound of sausage was too much. Plus the quiche didn't fill the pie crust like I expected, despite my extra 4 eggs. Travis and I ate about half of one pie before it was past its life in my fridge. I took the other pie down to Thom, aka the human garbage disposal. I figure him and his roommates would eat anything. They finished it off and liked it.

I don't plan on making this quiche again. Partly because I don't like tomatoes and partly I just wasn't a fan of the overwhelming sausage flavor. I will keep looking for the perfect quiche recipe.