Cooking from my Garden!

     This year I have started my own garden growing different vegetables and herbs. I have been growing cilantro, rosemary, basil, jalepeno and bell peppers, and sweet onions. It is just a small garden, but a fun start for me.



     Tonight I wanted to use fresh rosemary from my garden to make a delicious dinner, so I did! Tonight I made a rosemary garlic fettuccine alfredo with chicken cooked in my rosemary and garlic infused oil. Sounds delicious doesn't it? I seasoned the chicken breast with salt and pepper then sauteed it in my rosemary infused garlic oil (you could use regular olive oil if you don't have any). I browned both sides then cooked in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
     While the chicken was cooking I started the alfredo and fettuccine. I used a small amount oil in a new skillet and quickly cooked minced garlic and the fresh rosemary on medium heat, then turned the heat down to medium low and added a pint of heavy cream. I whisked that around for a few minutes while it heated up then added a stick of butter and whisked around until melted. Once the butter melted all the way I added fresh ground pepper and about a cup of fresh parmigiana cheese and whisked until melted. Its very important to keep the heat on medium low so the sauce does not separate.

     Once the sauce was ready I added the fettuccine noodles straight into the sauce and stirred until incorporated. Then I pulled the chicken from the oven and sliced it up to on top of the fettuccine alfredo and paired it with some delicious sweet bread from Market Street. Then of course a Landon Winery's Chardonnay. Easy homemade meal, hope it can be reused. Enjoy Folks!

Making the Most Out of Food... Stretching the budget

     Like my mom, I am all about saving money, using coupons, and finding sales... especially when it comes to food. I know where to find the online coupons (so I don't have to pay for a Sunday paper) and I have all my grocery store apps installed on my phones so I can view my Market Street Rewards points and weekly flyer, my downloadable/printable Walmart coupons, and compare prices at other grocery stores. 
     After much persistence from my Pop, we have ventured to a new store in McKinney called Winco.  They recently sent out flyers to draw customers in to their new store including coupons for free items, one being free bacon... WHOA!  We walked into this store and it was like a SAM's and Walmart combined. They had bulk and regular items of all sorts, so my grocery shopping that day is what sparked my next blog idea.  One item they had on sale was their pork loins and I bought mine for $15. This thing was so big that when I got home I busted out my giant cutting board and chef knife and got to hacking.

For $15 I able to get two 3 lb pork loin roasts and eight boneless pork chops... not too bad eh?  As you can see I Saran wrapped them (because I haven't invested in a vacuum sealer yet) and but my new stash of pork in the deep freezer. I used one of the pork loins to make a delicious pork carnitas dish that night... Thanks John for the recipe. And let me say, those carnitas were delicious! 

     Another thing Winco had was bulk items, they had large barrels of grains, flours, oats, snacks, nuts, you name it. So me and husband ventured over to the rice barrels and scooped 2 lbs of brown rice for only $1.36. Rice is another food that is low cost and goes a long way, and by choosing brown rice its a much more healthier grain vs white. As you know my sexy husband has been really dedicated to working out and recently had a personal trainer make a meal plan for him to help get to his goal.  With me getting off later it is often hard for me to come home each night and cook so we both decided to pre-portion our meals. This has many advantages for the both of us. With it already cooked and refrigerated we already have our meals ready, eliminating the option to just pick up food on the way home. Another advantage is they are pre-portioned so we wont over eat and help control our calorie intake. Check it out below, that's me getting food organized.  Each container has a half a cup of rice, half a cup of steamed veggies, and grilled pork chops.

     So long story short, keep your eye out for budgets and use your imagination when it comes to sales, and invest in a deep freeze. By taking that little extra time on my weekends I save a lot of time during the week. Hope every one had a great weekend, until next time..

Our Food Influences..

     Ok, this is my first time writing a blog post, and of course what is my blog about?... FOOD! But not just food and its tasty goodness but the impact it has on us and some of our best memories. Think about it... everyone has a great food memory, whether its from your childhood or adulthood. Everyone has a grandma food memory, I mean that's all you hear about when people describe their favorite comfort foods. I am lucky enough to have two amazing grandma's that both had a passion for cooking, and each had their own special style. My Nanny was from the north so she had "yankee" influences from her ham and bean soup made after every Christmas, her shoo fly pie, whoopee pies, and yes... her amazing sugar cookies. My Mama on the other hand was very southern and fried practically everything, one reason her boys have a little extra love around the edges (if you know what I mean). She makes THE best chicken fried steak, sticky buns, and bacon and eggs. Mama taught me how to make the perfect bacon and scrambled eggs, yes something so simple yet how many times have you had too crunchy of bacon or too chewy... combining the two, crunchy with little chewy fat at the end, delicious.
   
     Now, moving on to why I named the blog "Love and Food - Bringing People Together." Food is the center the point to all fun and memorable gatherings. Its the Sunday BBQ, the Saturday night of drinking and eating with good company, the candle light dinner with the love of your life, the "hey I have a new recipe I want to try out so come over and be my guinea pig", and then there is the sweet bite of the fluffy sugar cookie each holiday season that makes memories of my late Nanny flood in.

     Another major food influence I have had in my life is my grandpa, Papa... I was lucky enough to be passed down his knowledge of Championship BBQ and yummy homemade eggnog (which is an art all in its own). I write this blog as I sit on my back porch waiting on my pork to finish smoking. Smoking teaches patience, it takes hours and hours to smoke a tender piece of meat, but as we all know, its worth the wait once you take that first bite. BBQ is definitely turning into a passion of mine as I try out new techniques and flavors on the weekends to achieve the "Babe, this is really good!" from my husband, or the Nick speechless face as he chows down my food, or the special requests from my best friend. This is when I know I am surrounded by love, people inviting themselves over for a meal, as we sit down to eat and catch up on life. I look forward to the one day I sit down with my kids and they chow down on mom's new yummy dish, or play out in the yard with my sweet husband as I grill up something finger licking good. I even patiently wait (yes I know I am weird) for the chance to be a grandma and be the memory kids carry on to their future.

 

     Have a good evening my friends, hug your love ones dearly, and cook something good this week... from scratch. Scratch always makes you feel more accomplished, and (with the right dish) really isn't that difficult.