What's Cooking April 2023

Food

Back to regular updates I hope. I'm back to cooking more, trying new recipes and even remembering to take pictures sometimes. Not always!

Still making bread but did buy some buns recently. The brioche buns from Publix are tasty. My sourdough starter is alive and well and I still love my freezer for stress relief.

Of course we bought a flat of strawberries when we stopped on the way home from Nashville and of course that was too many. I washed them, hulled them, put them on a baking sheet with a towel on the bottom and on the top to dry, once frozen I bagged them. No waste!

I never stopped menu planning, there is no way I can shop without a plan. And I'm still shopping about every two weeks or so.

I found myself with a lot of potatoes. I love potatoes, I see sales, I buy them, I like all preparations. Except potato salad with mayo.

This loaded baked potato pizza was delicious! Not difficult, very delicious.

Once cooked I gently went around the bottom with a spatula and the pizza did come out of the pan. It stuck a little, but patience works.

Once out, I sprinkled it with chives and used the sour cream on pieces as we ate. So I could save leftovers.

Yes we had leftovers. Yes I saved them. I put the leftovers in the fridge, did not store on the counter. Next morning I used the rest for oven baked egg in the hole.

I preheated the oven to 400, cut holes in the pizza with a biscuit cutter. When the oven was hot I put a bit of butter in the hole, let it melt a little, broke in the eggs and baked until white was done and yolk still soft. Of course I baked the cutouts too. Delicious! And it heated up well.

I follow All The Healthy Things on Instagram and on Facebook. I like her recipes and like seeing her dog, husband, life. She started a recipe club in March with Greek Chicken Meatballs. So good and easy.

The April recipe was Cheesy Green Chicken Enchiladas. Also good. I made them in two baking dishes so I could cook the extras fresh later in the week. I sautéed chicken breasts and shredded them but rotisserie chicken would be great too.

I've also made the Philly Cheesesteak Skillet and have several recipes I want to try.

No pictures but a salad of Cod with Arugula and Charred Scallions was delicious. I subscribe to the paper but it looks like you can sign in and get it.

I kept Easter pretty simple for the two of us. For breakfast I went with a classic - grits, bacon and eggs. The last of the bacon in the freezer.

I made a pesto lasagna and roasted asparagus for dinner. Not a pretty picture but a delicious lasagna. yes there were leftovers, yes they heated well.

And since we had strawberries, strawberry shortcake for dessert. I like biscuit shortcake and used this recipe. Very good.

Lots of biscuits, we used two for dessert, two for breakfast and had several left. Tried this recipe for biscuit bread pudding. And I still had one left for a breakfast for me! very decadent.

I made a chicken dish using a Julia Turshen recipe. I follow her on Instagram, have one of her cookbooks and she has a newsletter. The chicken recipe isn't online but basically toss chicken pieces (I cut up a whole chicken), yukon gold potatoes, two lemons squeezed over and tossed in, oregano, chicken broth, olive oil. Very good and of course leftovers!

Fun

I've been able to get back to weekly knitting. The senior center was closed for many weeks because of pipes bursting in December but all is repaired and the meeting is on again. I enjoy the group.

I have all the pieces of the sweater for husband finished and have to sew it up. I started a new shawl.

I think we need to go out for a meal at least once a month so I'm trying to start that. We've gone to Superica for brunch and Casa Nuovo for dinner so far. I love to cook and I am good at cooking but it is nice to be treated every so often.

Work

Seriously attempting to retire. I currently have a few library programs booked for the summer but am trying to stop. I love teaching but it is work! I have discovered that I prioritize work and want to stop that. After so many years self-employed it's hard to turn down work. It is time.

We went to Costco for the first time since before Christmas. We tend to go every three months but due to January, things shifted. It's work to stock up. But we were totally out of bacon. And we are fortunate that we can stock when we go. Home work.

I need to get some porch plants. My celery still looks great and love using it. I put it in the garage a few days in December but otherwise it's been out.

Some plants just came back after winter. Oregano, mint and dianthus. Hanging in. And an onion that I stuck in the dirt because it had sprouted.

My avocado seed finally sprouted! I planted it when it rooted but have thought it dead. But just left it in the pot and watered it. It is alive! Not big yet, but growing.

I had to let a lot of things slide at the beginning of the year but looking better now. Husband

had a CAT scan and tests of all possible numbers and they all look good. So he's healthy.