The GE Saga Continues...

So I reported in my last post that my GE dishwasher and freezer were fixed and all was back to normal. Little did I know that while I was in appliance-ordeal-free bliss, the temperature in our freezer AND refrigerator (we have a side-by-side) were steadily climbing, all the way to warmer than room temperature. Needless to say by the time we realized what was happening, we could not trust the food inside and had to throw it all out. Everything in both the freezer and refrigerator. Ugggghhhhh!
What a time for me to have started this project! But you know what? Everything should be fine now and I can get back to the cooking goodness. I'll likely get back on track after the holidays. Hopefully all my appliances will still be working!! (knock on wood...)

All joking aside, I'm very thankful for all we have and I'm so blessed, no matter what little hiccups come along!
Thank you Lord for all you've done! This is my favorite time of year! As we celebrate the birth of our loving Lord and Savior of our souls, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

First Week: Fried Buttermilk Chicken and Good Ole Basic Fried Okra

Chicken - 4 out of 5 Stars
Okra - a big 5 out of 5 Stars!

The chicken was really good, it just could have stood adding a little more salt and pepper, perhaps in with the flour it was breaded in (but that's really a matter of personal taste). I used boneless fillets, quartered and did more of a pan fry as opposed to a deep fry. It was really tasty!

The okra was wonderful!!! To Mom and Dad, it tastes just like Granny's, if you can believe it! It was really simple. I like mine really, REALLY done and my grandmother has always made it that way for me. This tasted so much like it, bringing up such great memories. :)

I also whipped up some instant mashed potatoes and gravy, and we had some rolls left over after a Christmas party over the weekend. This was such a yummy southern meal that I really needed to warm me up in this freezing weather that I obviously was not made for! This is my first winter out of the south - what was I thinking?!

And we're back!

Yayyyy! The GE technician came today and at long last we have a dishwasher that actually opens and a freezer that doesn't create it's own elaborate ice sculptures! No more hand washing dishes or chiseling out my frozen vegetables! (Or least I hope there's no more!)

Anyway, hopefully things can get back to normal. Not that I haven't cooked since all of this, but I have not focused on the goal of working through the recipes, not having reliable appliances. SO, hopefully now I can get back on track! I'll try to do what I can this week to finish off that first week's recipes, and then get moving on the next round next week!

The Latest on the Dishwasher Hostage Situation...

We've been following the situation very closely and it appears that there has been some progress on rescuing the hostages soon. The GE swat team will be coming in on Tuesday to try to somehow get into the dishwasher that since Wednesday, November 10 has been on total lock down, not responding to any attempt to free the trapped, helpless dishes. It is thought that the complete darkness and lack of contact with the outside world besides the perpetrating dishwasher may have a traumatizing effect on the glassware, beyond the sheer pain of being held against one's will. A leading expert and long time psychologist to the fragile and stainless fears that the close quarters and absence of fresh air could make some of the victims crack.

We will continue to watch this situation closely and report on any updates as they come. In the meantime, we should all pray for the strength of the distressed dinnerware, and hope that the stone cold, stainless dishwasher will let them go soon with nothing broken or shattered.

Until then, stay tuned!

Week Two Hold Up

I just wanted to make a note that week two is not going to be a regular week. Because the dishwasher is yet to be opened, I have a lack of dishes and utensils at the moment as I mentioned in my earlier post. So I'm unfortunately behind on last week's meals and won't be able to do much this week. Bummer. I hope to get this fixed soon!

We'll be following the dishwasher hostage situation closely. Stay tuned for updates.

First Week: Taco Flavored Grilled Cheese

2 out of 5 Stars

I found something I could make without the dishes that are being held hostage by the dishwasher. (Notice the paper plate)

Anyway, this was pretty good. Grilled cheese is yummy anyway, so this had that going for it already. I didn't have the Velveeta, so I used mild cheddar. Honestly, I think that could be a pretty big difference in the taste of this dish, so I'll try it again later with the Velveeta. Also, I'm flying solo tonight so I cut everything in half to make 2 servings instead of 4 (both of which I ate). Overall, it was pretty good.

One recommendation I would make is to cook/grill the sandwiches over low to medium low heat, instead of medium. Medium almost burned the bread in less than a minute. (that's on the other side of the bread in the picture)

Hold Everything!

May Day on this project! So the biggest fluke happened this week that has put a major hold up on my cooking plans. My dishwasher, full of dishes, will not open. Will NOT open. No matter what I do, it will not budge. I have 1 clean plate, a few glasses, and not a lot else. It's all in the dishwasher. I'm not exactly sure what to do about at this point. We'll see what happens with that, but until then, I apologize for the absence of reporting on the recipes! I'm disappointed too! Ha.

First Week: Malted Milk Ball Pie

5 out of 5 Stars

This is SUPER YUMMY! It is very, VERY easy! Usually malted candies are not my first choice, but holy moly they are so delicious mixed with all the creamy goodness!

This couldn't wait for the photo!

First Week: Autumn Soup

4 out of 5 Stars

This was surprisingly good! If you don't like pumpkin-y, sweet potato-y type flavors, do not despair. I don't either, but I decided to try this because you never know how things will taste when you combine them with other flavors. In this case, it is a very good thing! The pumpkin flavor is very mild and blends so well with the shoepeg corn (I used white). It's a nice creamy soup that makes a nice big pot!

(This was clearly taken the day after I made it, as you can see how much higher it was! It was yummy!)

First Week: Get-Started-in-the-Mornin' Power Drink, p. 10

5 out of 5 Stars

I unfortunately didn't get the protein powder, so that was missing from this smoothie. I think that's probably taking the "power" out of the "power drink." Nonetheless, I thought it was super yummy! I give it 5 stars! You can switch it up with different fruits, yogurts and juices, whatever you like. I used orange juice with strawberry yogurt and a banana.

The only recommendation I would make would be to add ice, as the recipe does not call for that. For my taste, it wasn't cold enough. I simply poured it over ice at that point, and it was really good!

(I would have a picture of it, but I didn't think about it. You've seen a smoothie before, haven't you?)

First Week!

So this is the first week that I've started working through my cookbooks! From now on, I'm going to try to post my weekly meal plan and grocery list on the weekend before. This week's will be a little retro active. I thought it would be okay the first time around!

I'm working on Best of the Best 500 Fast and Fabulous Five Start 5 Ingredient Recipes by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. I thought a 5 ingredient recipe cookbook would be a great place to start - it won't be too overwhelming and the recipes won't be too advanced (the back of the book tells me so! - "Fewer ingredients means less work!")

Meal Plan for this Week (it didn't exactly go to plan because of some unexpected things, but that's okay! I may or may not continue to post my whole meal plan, I may just list the recipes for the week. I'll decide as I go along.)
Items with a color came from the cookbook (each color stands for a different section of the cookbook).

Beverages and Appetizers

Bread and Breakfast

Soups, chilies, and stews

Salads

Vegetables

Pasta, rice, etc.

Meats

Poultry

Seafood

Cakes

Cookies and candies

Pies and other desserts

Meal Plan

Monday

Breakfast-Power Drink

Snack-banana

Lunch-chicken ceasar salad

Snack- Apple

Dinner- Basil Cream Tomatoes p. 75

All together Light Bacon and Eggs

Tuesday

Breakfast-Power Drink

Snack-banana

Lunch-sandwich with chips

Snack- apple slices

Dinner- All together Light Bacon and Eggs, orange

Wednesday

Breakfast-All together Light Bacon and Eggs

Snack-apple slices

Lunch- salad with Creamy Mustard Dressing and sandwich with chips

Snack- Lovely lime luscious

Dinner- Autumn Soup p.61

Thursday

Breakfast- Cool Banana Shake p10

Snack- apples

Lunch- Autumn Soup p.61

Snack- banana

Dinner- taco flavored grilled cheese

Friday

Breakfast- Cool Banana Shake p10

Snack- apple slices

Lunch- chicken salad with mustard dressing or ranch

Snack- Lovely lime luscious

Dinner- honey baked chicken cubed

Good ole basic fried okra

Other-Creamy Sherbet Margaritas

Saturday

Breakfast, lunch, and snacks - leftovers

Dinner - Fried green tomatoes p99 

Fried Buttermilk Chicken p158

Shopping List (Keep in mind for this first list, Eric and I just moved and we were having to get a lot of staples that most folks already have on hand, like flour, sugar, etc. Also, this list includes all of the items for the meal plan, not just the ones for the recipes. I may not always do this, we'll see.)

Oranges

Mixed greens

5 Tomatoes

2 large green tomatoes

1 red onion

3 bananas

Lime juice

Lemon juice

2 (11oz) cans shoe peg corn, drained

1 (16oz) can solid-pack pumpkin

4 (14oz) cans chicken broth

1 can swettened condensed milk

Frozen raw chicken strips

Frozen cooked chicken

1 pound frozen okra

Lime sherbet

Vanilla ice cream

1 8oz carton cool whip

Buttermilk

OJ

1 quart Half n half

1 6oz strawberry yogurt

Dozen eggs

lunch meat

Slices of cheddar

American cheese

2 packages whoppers/milk duds

3 oz vanilla instant pudding mix

9in graham cracker crust

Marshmellow crème

Powdered sugar

Sugar

Self rising flour

Cornmeal

Celery salt or Mrs. Dash table blend

Taco seasoning mix

Apple cider vinegar

Worcestershire

Peanuts

Honey

Baked lays

Bread

Croutons

Protein powder

Triple sec