Great Wolf Lodge Weekend

We're off to my family's 5th Annual Great Wolf Lodge Weekend! Each year GoodMan and I provide hotel rooms and a pizza party for our sons and their families one weekend in February as our Christmas gift for the adults. It has been a real blessing for me! I don't have the stress of trying to figure out what size/color/brand gift to get for my sons and daughters-in-law, I don't have to wrap a gazillion gifts, and I get to enjoy having them all together another time throughout the year...It's a win-win for me.

The weekend will be full of waterslides, kiddie pools, pizza, a birthday celebration, MagiQuest, story time at the Great Tree, lots of laughter, and catching up on each other's lives. Our group will include 4 sons (one won't be making it this year), 5 lovely ladies, 16 grandchildren ranging in age from 3 months to 16 years, 2 friends (for the teenagers), and Papa and Gramma. And you can be certain at one point of the weekend GoodMan and I will catch each other's eye and will share a moment reflecting on what an enormous blessing our family is to us! 

I cooked up some unique treats like "Neapolitan Sundae Cupcakes To-Go", "Peanut Butter Brownie Bites", and "Omelet Muffins" for my gang to enjoy during our weekend together.  I'll be sharing those recipes with you in the coming days along with pictures and stories of my family's time together at Great Wolf Lodge.

Take a sneak peek at the treats...recipes soon to follow.

Neapolitan Sundae Cupcakes To-Go

Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

And Omelet Muffins for Sunday's breakfast

I hope your weekend is wonderful too!!

~Denise

Menu Planning

GoodMan would tell you this post isn't really "dishin' it up with Denise", it's more like "Denise is dishin' it out" ~ unsolicited advice, that is. I don't have daughters and my sons are not particularly domestic. I never got the opportunity to pass on the hints and tricks I've picked up over my (many) years as a daughter, wife, mom, and now grandma. I'm so bursting with this stuff that I had to start a blog just to unload it all.

If the subject of menu planning doesn't interest you, you have my permission to skip today's post...but I wouldn't if I were you...how do you know what you don't know until you know it?...Ouch, that kind of thinking hurts!

I started menu planning way back in the day when my boys were little. So much of the time I either didn't have the use of a car during the day or was too far from town to run back and forth every day, so I learned to plan ahead and make use of my freezer. As the times of our lives changed I found myself driving the boys to school functions or practice, and again, menu planning was a life saver. I went to work when my youngest was in high school. Menu planning allowed me to have a real dinner on the table almost every night. And even now that I've retired I find my menu plan keeps me organized and helps me make sure I don't throw away a ton of extra food.

Here's how I do it:

I like to plan my menus a week at a time. I know a lot of people do monthly plans, or even bi-weekly plans, but I live almost a half hour away from a large grocery store so I'm not able to pop in for fresh ingredients on a daily basis. I try to pick up things like breads, fresh fruits and vegetables to last for a week and then do it again next week.

When I'm ready to plan my weekly menu I pull out my calendar, a pad of paper and a pencil, and if I'm being really good I check the sales flyer from the store where I'll be shopping. Lots of people are into "extreme couponing", I've been there and done that, but I found I didn't like my house looking like a warehouse with all the extra products I purchased in advance, and the time I was putting into it didn't seem productive enough. Recently I found a neat app for my smart phone called "grocery IQ". I use that to remind myself of things I need to pick up, and if I use it for my full grocery list I can click a button and check for coupons for any items on my list. I like that method better ~ coupons to match my menu, not menus to match my coupons.

I look on my calendar for days when we'll be away from home and happily put OTE (for out-to-eat) and skip that day. When I was working, my schedule called for working one evening per week. As I planned my menu I would put EMFS (for every-man-for-himself), everyone was expected to get their own dinner that night~ either leftovers, a sandwich, a bowl of soup, even a bowl of cereal.

Next, I look for scheduling issues for the next week. Maybe my husband will have a meeting and he'll need to have just a quick bite before heading out...I sure don't want to make a big production-type dinner that night! If I know I'll have a busy day with doctor appointments or out Christmas shopping, I'll plan a crock pot dinner to be ready when I return. These days GoodMan and I have been taking a meal to share with my daughter-in-law and 3 grandkids on Wednesdays and Sundays so I keep that in mind when I make my plans. You get the idea. It does no good to put something on the menu plan if there is no way you'll have time to actually make it.

I like to "go shopping in my cupboards" before I go shopping at the super market. Sometimes I'm surprised to find out I already have something on my list. ~ I can cross that item off my list. And then there are times when my pantry or freezer starts looking too full...those times I determine the meals for my menu plan based on what things I need to use up.

I write my grocery list based on the aisles of the store I normally shop. That way I spend less time wandering around the grocery store and I'm less likely to buy impulse items. I write on a dry erase board the dinners I plan to make and I CHECK THE BOARD the night before to see what I need to get out of the freezer...and last but not least, I always have a quick dinner on hand that I can pull from the pantry or freezer in case plans change last minute. There are good all-in-one meals in the freezer section of the grocery store to have on hand for last minute changes. This keeps us from ordering pizza or going through a drive-thru when time has gotten away from us. 

Menu planning gets easier the longer you do it. It saves time, saves money, and helps me make good nutritional decisions. One of the biggest benefits for me is knowing what I'll be making ahead of time so I can plan my time and be prepared when the time comes. I encourage you to try it, you might just find it improves your life as much as it's improved mine! 

Garlic Breadsticks

Garlic breadsticks and steaming hot soup, garlic breadsticks and marinara for dipping, garlic breadsticks and spaghetti, garlic breadsticks with a Greek or Italian salad, garlic breadsticks with snickerdoodles...okay, maybe not snickerdoodles, but these breadsticks DO taste great with a whole lot of things. My family can eat them with ALMOST anything! I'll let you in on the recipe for these yummy garlic breadsticks with a warning**do not make more than one batch at a time or your family may not ingest any of the other nutritionally necessary food groups.**

Here is the way I do it:

I start by putting 1 1/2 cups of warm water in my mixer's bowl. I don't measure the temperature, I just make sure it is a little warmer than lukewarm ~ not hot. Then I put in 1 tablespoon yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar. I give it a stir and then let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it starts getting foamy ~ this means the yeast is doing it's thing.

When it's foamy like this it's time to add the remaining ingredients.

I add one tablespoon of salt (sometimes sea salt, kosher salt, or table salt ~ it doesn't seem to matter), 3 tablespoons of softened butter, and 3 cups of bread flour (bread flour has more gluten which helps to make the breadsticks chewy, rather than crispy). Then, using the dough hook on my mixer I mix for about 3 minutes, or until all the ingredients are incorporated. (If you don't have a mixer with a dough hook you can mix this together with a wooden spoon.)

When everything seems mixed I keep the mixer running on low and then add more flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. It usually takes about 1 more cup of flour to get to this point, but depending on the humidity you may need up to 2 more cups of flour. When your dough gets to this point keep the mixer on low and knead the dough for 7 minutes ~ turn your timer on and walk away...If you don't have a mixer to do the kneading for you, put the dough on a floured surface and knead by hand for 7 minutes.

Now I put the dough on a floured surface and with my hands I roll it into a long log. I spray the blade of a knife with cooking spray and cut my dough-log into 14 pieces. Then I take each of those pieces and roll it between my hands to make 14 sticks.

I put those lovely breadsticks on cookie sheets lined with silicone. You could  use cooking spray or parchment paper instead of silicone , but I LOVE silicone. You'll notice my breadsticks are not perfectly identical. I find they taste better if you don't spend too much time rolling them around trying for perfection. Anyway, that's part of their charm!

I don't have a picture of this...but I put the breadsticks in my oven set at it's lowest setting for about 20 minutes. They should almost double in size. At that point I take them out and reset the oven temperature to 400 degrees. 

And while the oven is preheating to 400 degrees I get to the decadent part...I melt a full stick of butter and put seasoned salt and garlic powder in it.  With this batch I used Tastefully Simple's "Garlic-Garlic", and their Seasoned Salt, but it is also good with other brands.

I brush that buttery, garlicy goodness all over the tops, and I usually go over them a couple of times to let it soak in and slather all over...mmm, mmm, mmm...I reserve about a quarter of the butter mixture to use when they come out of the oven.

I pop them in the oven and set my timer for 7 minutes. When the timer goes off I switch the trays so they brown evenly and reset the oven for another 7 minutes.

As soon as I take them out of the oven I brush on the remaining butter mixture and I sprinkle them liberally with Parmesan cheese...and I try not to get into them until it's time to eat dinner...and I try to keep GoodMan out of them...and I try to keep the grandkids out of them...and then I give up and consider them the appetizer.

Here's the official recipe for Garlic Breadsticks

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tbl yeast

2 tbl sugar

1 tbl salt (sounds like a lot ~ but it's not a typo) 

3 tbl butter, softened

4-5 cups bread flour

topping

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

2 tsp Tastefully Simple "Garlic-Garlic" seasoning - or may use 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Parmesan Cheese - you'll probably use 1/3 cup

For the breadsticks:
In a mixer bowl stir the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let the mixture "bloom" (blooming is what the yeast does as it makes contact with the warm water and sugar ~ it should get foamy) for about 10 minutes.

With mixer on low and using a dough hook attachment, mix in the salt, butter, and 3 cups of flour. When all ingredients are incorporated add in additional flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. (I usually end up using about 4 cups of flour, but you may use more
depending on the humidity and other factors.)

When the dough has cleaned the sides of the bowl leave the mixer on low and knead for 7 minutes. (Turn the timer on and walk away ~ don't touch it for 7 minutes!) If you don't have a mixer with a dough hook you can knead it by hand for 7 minutes.

When kneading is finished take the dough out and roll by hand into a large log. Use a sharp knife sprayed with cooking spray to cut 14 equal pieces. Roll each of the pieces by hand into sticks.

Put sticks on 2 greased cookie sheets. Put the cookie sheets in an oven turned to the lowest setting (my oven says 170 degrees) for 20 minutes, or until about doubled in size.

When sticks have doubled in size take them out of the oven. Turn the oven temperature up to 400 degrees. While the oven is heating up mix all the topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to spread the topping mixture on all the sticks. Reserve 1/4 of the topping mixture.

Bake breadsticks for 14 minutes (switch trays half way through to allow for even browning.) Immediately after removing from the oven brush the remaining butter mixture over the breadsticks and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.

What is the taste tester's bottom line?

Everybody loves these...the warmer, the better...

Bottom line: Keep bread flour and yeast in the pantry at all times!

Marinated Strip Steak with Hasselback Potatoes

  My friend Rosalee has recently signed up to be a consultant for Tastefully Simple, which is a home-party business selling food mixes and spices. I attended her kick-off party a couple of weeks ago and just received the spices I ordered at her party. I wanted to try out the new spices so I decided to pull a couple of strip steaks out of the freezer for dinner. Since tonight is one of the (seemingly) few nights GoodMan and I will be eating at home ~ just the two of us, I also decided on Hasselback potatoes because they have long been one of GoodMan's favorites.
 

I gathered the two spices, "Onion-Onion", and "Garlic-Garlic" along with the steaks and my favorite Worcestershire Sauce, "Lea and Perrins".

In a large ziplock bag, I added 1 tablespoon of the "Onion-Onion" seasoning.

And 1 tablespoon of "Garlic-Garlic" seasoning.

And 1/3 cup of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce.

Finally, I added in the steaks. I smooshed it around a little to make sure the steaks were covered in seasoning and sauce, then I put them back in the refrigerator to marinate for about 6 hours.

About an hour and a half before I wanted dinner to be served, I scrubbed two medium sized baking potatoes.

I sliced through the potatoes almost all the way through about every 1/4 inch along the length of the potato. I used the wooden spoon as a stop for the knife to keep me from cutting all the way through the potato.

I gathered the remaining ingredients ~ "Onion-Onion" and "Garlic-Garlic" seasoning, and 1/2 stick of butter.

I melted the butter and added a scant teaspoon of each spice to the butter.

I brushed the butter and spice mixture all over the potatoes, making sure to get the mixture between the slices. When they were completely covered I put them in the oven at 350 degrees and let them cook for an hour...Mmmm...they smell delicious!

When GoodMan called to let me know he was on his way home from work I turned the stove up on high and heated up a cast iron pan with ridges (makes wonderful grill marks) and added a little olive oil.

Once the pan was nice and hot I added the marinated steaks. If you look real close you can see the steam rise as I added the cold steak to the hot pan. Sizzle...Sizzle...Sizzle!

I used tongs to turn them over after about four minutes. See the lovely grill marks? Almost as good as getting the BBQ grill out (but this is February...brrr...not going there). I gave them another four minutes before I plated them and let them rest for about 5 minutes before we were ready to eat.

I rounded out our just-the-two-of-us dinner with a side salad topped with fresh-made ranch dressing. It was a big meal, but we were up to the challenge.


What's the taste-tester's bottom line?

  GoodMan and I enjoy a good steak. This was just okay. I thought the spices would have more salt in them than they did. I felt both the potatoes and the steak needed salt. The steak was also tougher than we like. That may have been due more to the quality of the meat than to the marinade.
  The potatoes were tender and good. The only thing missing was the salt. I will use the Tastefully Simple spices in the future, but I will add seasoned salt to the recipes. 

Bottom line: Buy better quality steaks and add salt to the recipe.

Over-the-River-and-Through-the-Woods Impossible Cheeseburger Casserole

Once a week GoodMan and I take dinner over to our daughter-in-law and three of our grandchildren (we call them "ACE" because that's their initials ~Ayden, Charlie and Emma ~ but now with their newest addition, Ella, we'll have to change it to ACEE). Our son is working at a job in another state and only gets home for a weekend about once every three weeks, so we try to carry some of the load by bringing dinner to them once or twice a week and having them to our house whenever they can came. They live over-the-river-and-though-the-woods in a cozy log cabin about 25 minutes away so it's always a challenge to find a meal that travels well. I like to make something in the crock pot or a casserole so they have a nice home-cooked dinner. This week I took Impossible Cheeseburger Casserole.

These are the ingredients I needed for the casserole: ground beef, onion, Bisquick, milk, eggs, salt, pepper and shredded cheese.

First, I chopped the onion. About 2 cups, or one large onion.

Next, I put the ground beef and the onion in a skillet on top of the stove to brown.

Okay, now I'm being painfully honest...I was supposed to thaw 2 pounds of ground beef and I only took one pound out of the freezer. I didn't realized it until I looked at the amount of beef in the pan ~ whoops! So I got another pound of ground beef out of the freezer and put it in the microwave on "speed defrost" and added it to the meat and onions already browning on the stove. I'm keepin' it real...if you were sitting in my kitchen watching me make this, you'd have seen my goof and laughed along with me!

Next, I drained the fat off of the ground beef. Just take a look at all that! Ewww...

I put the meat in a 9x13 glass pan that I had previously sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I then put the salt and pepper on top of the meat and set it all aside.

I whisked the eggs in a large container with a lid.

I added the Bisquick and milk to the egg mixture and whisked until it was combined. Then I put the lid on the bowl and set it aside.

This is not actually a part of the casserole, but we like to top our casserole with lettuce and tomato along with a healthy dose of homemade Ranch Dressing. So I chopped the lettuce and tomatoes and put them in containers to go.

At this point it was time to gather all the fixin's to take over-the-river-and-through-the-woods. I had the meat in a 9x13 pan, the Bisquick mix in a bowl with a lid, the cheese, lettuce, tomato, Ranch dressing, and even the corn to round out the dinner. I packed this all in a cooler and headed out to the log cabin in the woods.

When I got to their house the first thing I did (after getting hugs and hearing stories of boo-boos and who-did-what-to-me-at-school-today) was preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then I sprinkled shredded cheese over the top and  poured the Bisquick mixture over all of it. You will notice one corner of the casserole didn't get much cheese...that was intentional...you see, GoodMan prefers his piece without cheese. By sprinkling the cheese on top instead of mixing it into the Bisquick mixture I can regulate where the cheese goes. I put the casserole in the oven and turned the timer on for 30 minutes. While it's baking I have time to play with Baby Ella, see how Ayden's mousetrap car works for his science project, and cuddle on the couch with Charlie and Emma.

When the timer goes off the casserole is a pan of meaty, cheesy, goodness. The Bisquick mixture has set up and the cheese has formed a crust on the top. We could just cut it up and eat it like this...but we make it just a little more special.

We add a nice amount of shredded lettuce, some diced tomatoes, and the perfect drizzle of Ranch dressing. The hefty scoop of corn is the perfect side dish. Not everyone likes it this way. Some put ketchup all over it (yuck!) and some prefer other dressings...but the RIGHT way to eat it is the with lettuce, tomato and Ranch.

Here is the full recipe:

Impossible Cheeseburger Casserole

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 eggs

1 cup Bisquick baking mix

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and Ranch dressing to serve as topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9x13 glass baking dish by spraying with non-stick spray.

In a skillet on the stove, brown hamburger and onions. Drain and put meat in the 9x13 pan.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the meat.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the meat.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add the Bisquick and milk. Pour over the meat and cheese mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and set.

Slice and serve with lettuce, tomatoes and Ranch dressing (or ketchup if you like it yucky).

What's the taste tester's bottom line?

This is a "tried-and-true" recipe, and you don't get to be one of those unless you consistently please the taste testers. Some like it less cheesy (which can be accommodated), and some like it with yucky toppings (which can be ignored unless the perpetrator is sitting right next to you and you can't avoid the ketchup smell), but everyone rates this a "thumbs-up".

Bottom line: This recipe goes on the menu plan rotation about once a month.

Cream of Potato Soup for a Snowy Day

Brrrr...Baby it's COLD outside! Looking out my kitchen window I see the yard all covered in snow, with more big flakes drifting down to cover the swingset out back and the little pond next to our gazebo.  The grandkids are all bundled into their snowpants, coats, hats, and gloves to take a ride down the sledding hill behind our house. GoodMan is all bundled up too, as he clears the snow from our sidewalk and those of our neighbors. Time for some hot soup and fresh garlic breadsticks.

I decided on stick-to-your-ribs cream of potato soup because I knew everyone was working up a big appetite. Let me show you how I put it all together. Also ~ check back tomorrow and I'll show you how I made the garlic breadsticks.

This is not the type of recipe with exact measurements. Everything is done to taste and for the size crowd you're feeding. The day I made this soup there were 6 of us, and we had a little left over.

First thing I did was to chop an onion ~ I should have a stock photo for this because it seems so many of my recipes start with this step.

Next, I peeled potatoes...a lot of potatoes...but they weren't big ones...so I'd say 7 large or 12-ish small potatoes.

And then I chopped the potatoes...a lot of potatoes...sigh...

I put a little more than a half a stick of butter in the bottom of a soup pot and added the chopped onion. I turned the stove on medium high and cooked the onions until they were translucent.

I added about a tablespoon of garlic seasoning. I've been using Tastefully Simple's "Garlic-Garlic" seasoning, but you can use garlic powder and seasoned salt if you prefer.

Next I added about a quarter of a cup of real bacon pieces. I buy the real bacon pieces in the pouch in the salad dressing aisle. I don't usually have regular bacon in the house so the bacon pieces in the pouch come in handy for things like this as well as on top of salads and I sometimes put them on top of casseroles.

Then I added 1/4 cup of flour and stirred it around very well.

And now add the potatoes.

Add enough chicken broth to cover the potatoes and turn the temperature down to medium low.

Then put the lid on the pot and cook until the potatoes are tender ~ about 15 minutes. Stir it every once in a while...Mmmm...this is smelling yummy!!

It will look something like this...yummy, but not quite done yet...be patient...

Now the decadent, finishing touch. I added a pint of heavy cream. I just happened to have that left after a family gathering. Sometimes I use whole milk, and I've been known to use low-fat milk. May I just tell you...the more fat the better! You shouldn't always eat this way, but all the sledding and snow blowing should help work some of the fat off. After adding the cream be sure the soup does not come to a boil ~  if it does the soup will look curdled. It still tastes okay, but it doesn't look very inviting.

I wish you could put your face over this pot of soup. You'd inhale and feel warmth reaching from your nose all the way down to your toes! Time to grab a bowl, a spoon, and a couple of toasty warm bread sticks. I'm feeling toasty all over!

What is the taste tester's bottom line?

The grown-ups in our group gave this enthusiastic thumbs-up. The children were not so easily impressed. The kids liked it better when we pointed out the bacon pieces. They just didn't know if a soup made out of a vegetable could make a good dinner. That's okay, the grown-ups ate enough to make up the difference.

The bottom line: This is a good recipe for adults. If we want to please the kids we should make a separate pot of chicken noodle soup for them.