Food | A Thankfully Imperfect Woman

Feb 28

Sicilian Meatloaf

See this sad little piece of meatloaf?

I really did plan on taking a picture of the process and the final product.

However…

I forgot during the process.

And my family devoured it before I could get a picture of it fresh from the oven.

It really was fantastic…

Much better than this little end piece looks.

If the way to your families heart is through their stomachs, they LOVE me and this meatloaf!

Here’s the recipe… Read more

Dec 24

And Now, the Pièce de Résistance…My Dining Room

By now, you’ve seen most of my house, all decorated for Christmas…

The bedrooms, dressing room, and bathrooms only get a few touches of Christmas, so they really don’t need their own post.

But the dining room…now the dining room is another story.

For a couple of years now, I’ve wanted to put a (faux) Christmas tree in there.

I’ve had the perfect plan.

I’d collected ornaments from Goodwill and garage sales.

I’d picked up a Christmas tree from a friend who had decided to give it away.

But last year, sadly, I was just too sick to get all my decorations up, and that tree stayed in the basement.

But this year…

This year is different.

Without further ado, take a look at my dining room Christmas. A moment of silence to appreciate the beauty…

I could stand here and look at it all day. Especially from this view…

Mom’s AMAZING Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Today is your lucky day!

Mark it on your calendar!

You’ll want to remember this day forever…

And remember the anniversary…

Of the day you received a coveted gift!

Seriously!

Do you have your pen ready?

Now…

Get to your printer…

Get your paper ready…

Make sure you have enough ink…

Because you’re going to want to hold this in your hand, not just look at it on your screen…

Have I dragged the anticipation out long enough?…

Are the …’s and !’s driving you crazy?

🙂

Trust me, when you make these you’ll understand why this needed such an intense build-up!

Here it is:

Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

(Insert the crowd saying: OooooOOOOOOOOooooooo!) Read more

Jan 30

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I found Jambalaya on My Way to the Banana Bread

Sunday afternoon I found myself scoping out Allrecipes.com, trying to find a new Banana Bread recipe. I didn’t care for the one I had and I’d just cleaned out our freezer and found oodles of overripe bananas in a drawer. (I admit, some had been in there way too long so they went right into the garbage. I honestly didn’t think ripe bananas could get any worse…wrong!)

I still wound up with enough bananas to make 4 batches of Banana Bread. I did find one to try which included Sour Cream in the recipe and my family liked it! Here’s the link if you’d like to try it: Cathy’s Banana Bread . I do wish I would have put some roasted walnuts or chocolate chips (or both) in a loaf or two, but I’m sure we’ll collect more overripe bananas soon!

Actually that’s the side story… Read more

Apr 3

2 Comments

Teriyaki Pot Roast

It may be April 3rd, but here in Northern Minnesota it looks like December. More snow is in the forecast for tonight and with everyone’s moods low (I think we’ve hit an all new level of crankiness), I knew it was time for some comfort food. Of course, having made regular pot roast throughout the winter, I decided to make it with a twist.

I rarely make something that’s not from a recipe. I tried years ago and it was a disaster. But this time…this time…it was FANTASTIC! Of course there were a few things that I realized should have been done differently, so I incorporated those into the recipe below.

TERIYAKI POT ROAST

1 – 2-3# Beef Roast (find one that has some nice marbling – it makes the roast more juicy)

1 – Bottle of Teriyaki Sauce

4 – Golden Russet Potatoes

4-8 – Carrots, cut up (8 if you use small baby carrots)

6-8 – Brussel Sprouts

1 – Medium Onion – diced

1 – Shake of Montreal Steak Seasoning (to lightly cover the roast)

1 – gallon Ziploc Bag

Place your roast in a gallon Ziploc bag with 2/3 of the Teriyaki Sauce. Refrigerate 4-6 hours.

Brown the roast (preferable in the same pan you’ll be using in the oven). Once browned on all sides, add vegetables. Pour in 1/4 cup of water and the rest of the Teriyaki Sauce. Cover and cook at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours, remove the cover and cook another 30 minutes.

Remove roast from pan, slice and return to pan. The juices will help keep it moist. Serve with hot buttered rolls.

Enjoy!

Patty O