The Thoughtful Homemaker

Chicken
garlic (I put a tablespoon but I LOVE garlic)
tablespoon of shallots
half a stalk of lemon grass
choice of stir fry veggies like carrots and cabbage (I put broccoli and hated it)
rice noodles, chicken broth, salt
First stir fry the garlic and shallots and put a little bit of season salt. Then stir fry the chicken (I baked […]

This year I decided to do something different. I decided to cook pumpkin. So I showed Viki how to cook pumpkin in between my husband’s panic attacks. First I made a pumpkin soup. It is an Uzbek recipe with beans, vegetables, and pumpkin. It was good, but my husband had to add meat to it. […]

Every once in a while I will cook the perfect meal that really fills me up. That is usually when I follow the recipe!
I used to be a very good meatloaf maker. I always received compliments on my meatloaf. That is because I use my mother’s delicious recipe. Her meatloaf is moist and the tomato […]

This is a very delicious Greek recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
Pastitsio
1 pound of ground beef (or pork or lamb)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup of dry red wine (I used wine vinegar, I am sure beef broth works just as well)
2 tablespoons of […]

Aziz has long talked about wanting to grill meats outside so I finally bought a grill at Walmart for $10. It is a tiny grill, but that is all we need really.
Last night we had the missionaries over for dinner and Aziz asked them to show him how to use the grill. I guess […]

Monday - Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
Tuesday - Rouladen (VERY Good!)
Wednesday - Homemade Pizza Hut Pizza
Thursday - Japanese Style Chicken Curry
Friday - Beef Fried Rice
Saturday - Jambalaya
Sunday - Leftovers (Since Aziz will be gone, I will have plenty of leftovers!)

Though I felt deadly ill, I promised my daughter that I would make cupcakes for her class, and made them I did. Victoria helped me and it was a lot of fun being with her. I felt ok in the beginning, but after an hour I had trouble holding myself up. I so exhausted myself […]

With the leftover chicken I had from Sunday I made made chicken fried rice. I just fried some onions and garlic. Then I added the chicken and poured a little soy sauce in it. Then I added some rice and fried it all together until almost brown. The kids loved it. Yeah, it is not […]

I took the weekend off to do research on the Majors family of TN, GA and SC. Genealogy is a lot of work but very rewarding. If you are a history buff, then genealogy is for you. At the same time I am reading a book about life in England during the year 1000 AD. […]

This month is national egg month. Eggs are healthy and a great way to get protein. I love to make scrambled eggs and omelets. My husband loves fried eggs. My favorite way to eat eggs is Farmer’s Breakfast.
Farmer’s breakfast is easy to make and very filling. It can be eaten for dinner as well […]

My brother recently started working for Pilgrim’s Pride and my children think that is real cool. He is a manager at a chicken plant. I rarely get Pilgrim’s Pride chicken because I usually just buy the cheapest chicken I can find and don’t look at labels. Well, I was getting out chicken to thaw and […]

The blog The Online Recipe Box has a page on the National Food holidays. There is a holiday for each date. I think it is a good way to plan a menu.
Today was National Peanut Butter Day which was interesting because I ate the usual snack my father eats when he is hungry, peanut butter […]

The overnight low will be 14 degrees. I put the kids in their warm pajamas with the footies in them to keep them warm. For supper we ate sausage and potato soup. I added some cabbage that I needed to get rid of. Since cabbage is so cheap right now I bought a few heads […]

Tonight was an emotional night so we got food at the White Castle/Church’s Chicken that is on the corner. I got food for everyone for $8. However, my stomach is still paying a high price for it. Let’s just say that Church’s chicken was 90% grease 10% meat. Blah! I also gave most of the […]

We ate leftover pizza and leftover spaghetti that I froze last week before I went to visit my mother. We ate fruit and crackers for dessert. I got home late because after going to the library, picking up Victoria, and going to the grocery store, I only had time for something instant. The kids got […]

I love the internet! You can find anything!!
Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole
Approx 1 pound frozen hash brown shredded potatoes, thawed
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted, either regular or fat free **
1/4 cup water
4 tablespoons margarine, melted
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cups shredded Colby or cheddar (you can use light cheddar)
Salt and pepper to taste
A […]

On Friday we ate a t McDonald’s! We were driving down to Alabama which is a three hour drive from where I live. I was going to wait, but the kids woke up after a long nap and began to fuss. When we got to my parent’s we ate Taco Salad. The missionaries came over […]

I had a rough day yesterday. I was down and in low spirits. I can’t be a happy homemaker all of the time. Sometimes a homemaker has down days, days when it seems like the world is crashing in on you. My day was slow. I didn’t do much housework. I didn’t even read or […]

Because I took Victoria to gymnastics class last night, I didn’t have time to prepare a huge meal.
Victoria has gymnastics on Wednesdays 5PM to 6PM. She goes to a wonderful gym. Last night the advanced team was practicing and it was like watching routines that you see in the Olympics. Victoria worked on the bar […]

Easy Chicken Bake
1 package of Stove Top Stuffing Mix
1 lb of boneless chicken breasts cut up
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 bag of frozen vegetables
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix chicken soup, sour cream, and vegetables in a baking dish, top with stuffing
3. Bake 30 minutes
Makes 6 servings
I got this […]

This was on our menu last night.
Beef Goulash
1 lb Stew Beef
2 Tablespoons of oil
1 cup of chopped onions
1 tp salt
1 cup of tomato juice
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 cup of beef broth
Brown meat in oil. Then add onions. Saute until transparent. Add The rest of the ingredients. Cover the pot and simmer and our and a […]

Another breakfast item:
# 300 g buckwheat.
# 100 g mushrooms.
# 100 g butter.
# 4 ea eggs hard boiled.
# 2 ea onions.
# water, salt.
Boil crumbly buckwheat kasha in salted water. Boil mushrooms until
they are ready. Fry chopped onions in butter. Chop mushrooms and
eggs. Stir all ingredients into kasha, add butter. Put kasha in the hot oven for […]

I have seen the book, French Women Don’t Get Fat, at the book store and wanted to get it. I have heard about the benefits of the French diet. On MSN.com they have a page that features five recipes from the book and an interview with the author, Mireille Guiliano.
I like the recipe for a […]

Too tired to cook. This is a simple recipe.
TATER TOT CASSEROLE
1 lb. ground beef and chopped 1/2 onion
10 oz. pkg. frozen vegetables
1 can cream of mushroom soup combined
Cheddar Cheese
Brown ground beef and cook onions. Place in 9×13 inch casserole in layers in order listed. Place tater tots on top. Bake in 350 degree oven for […]

These are my favorite cookies. They taste a lot like school cafeteria cookies! They were so easy that Victoria made them.
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup of butter
Mix the flour, sugar, and butter. Rub the mixture between your thumb and fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. When the mixture looks crumbly, squeeze […]

Brunswick Stew is a famous southern recipe and a delicious way to use your extra pork roast leftovers. It also tastes good with chicken. I tried this recipe from a recipe in Georgia where supposedly the best Brunswick stew is made and where they have Brunswick Stew competitions.
Sauce:
In a 2 quart sauce pan melt a […]