The Deadline Arrives

Razzle-frazzle, riggle-figgle!

Sorry, those are my explicatives for the morning.

I am not done. I have not completed my task. I have failed.

Bummer.

I planned to have all of the recipes from The Pioneer Woman Cooks made by today. It just ain't gonna happen.

Since my last update I made Creme Brulee, Creamy Rosemary Potatoes, BBQ Jalapeno Poppers, PW's Potato Skins, and Iny's Prune Cake.

Still remaining:

Pico de Gallo (I have made it before, but not since I decided to cook all the way through the book)

Guacamole (same as above)

Katie's Roasted Corn Salad

Breakfast Bowls

Chicken Fried Steak

Linguine with Clam Sauce

Sangria

Roasted Beef Tenderloin

Burgandy Mushrooms

Oatmeal Crispies

Pineapple Upside-down Cake in a Skillet

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

Red Velvet Cake

I just can't imagine making thirteen new dishes TODAY!!

So what now?? Should I extend my original deadline?? Or do I just call it quits??

Advice! I need advice!!

Quick!

Cleaning the Oven

It has been far, far too long since I cleaned my oven.

Clearly.

Every time I preheat it, there is a yucky burned smell.

It is also very unappetizing to look at.

See!

There should be laws against letting your oven get this dirty!

When I decided to blog the status of my oven, I took this first picture. Then I figured I should get a closer picture...

so I crouched down in front of the oven,

and back in the far corner of the top rack I saw this...

Yup.

And then I laughed and laughed and laughed!!

That, my friends, is a charred-past-any-resemblance-of-a-spud, potato!!

Uh huh. That's right. It has been in there cooking away every time I turned my oven on for the passed two weeks or so.

And you should know that I use my oven ALMOST EVERY DAY!

Actually, according to my master cooking list, it has been in there since March 28th! That was the day I made Basic Breakfast Potatoes!

Here is a close up just for your viewing pleasure.

Only here, folks.

I'm pretty sure this could only happen to me, here!

I called Glen and told him. He laughed almost as hard as I did. Then I sent the picture to Lane's phone.

I got a "Wow." response from him.

He sent the picture to his friend Kyle, and Kyle could not identify the object.

Go figure.

The poor kid has never seen the likes of a charred potato at his house.

Well..... did you laugh??

Good. My mission in life is complete!

I will rest peacefully tonight.

So, after all of that excitement, I sprayed the oven with oven cleaner and left the house for a few hours.

A few hours turned into the rest of the day and evening.

When I got home at 9:30pm the scent of oven cleaner was in the air. I got out my gloves and went to work.

I always clean the oven door first so I can lean in there to get the rest of the goo without covering myself with it.

I think I learned this lesson the hard way.

Then I clean the walls.

I like to leave the bottom till last.

Can you see why??

How I long for a self-cleaning oven. One that goes from goo-to-sparkley all by itself!

This was the best I could do.

There are just some spots that refuse to be removed!

All finished.

So much better!

I don't suppose it will last long! But it is wonderful for today!

I had brief thoughts about keeping a running tally of all the baking potatoes I put into and pull out of the oven.

I also had brief thoughts about always using foil when baking pies, and never again oven-roasting chicken. But, this is real life.

I just don't operate that way.

So I guess I'll have another date with the oven cleaner. Hopefully before things get completely out of hand again!

Yummo

Happiness in red meat form! That is what I would call Rib-Eye Steaks with Whiskey Cream Sauce! Do most definitely make that recipe! Fantastic!

At our favorite steak house there are sides dishes to choose from when you order a steak. I usually choose the Cesar Salad with dressing on the side and the Mashed Potatoes. Glen usually chooses the Baked Sweet Potato and Steak Fries. The options are many!

That is there.

At my house, there are fewer options, unfortunately!

Especially when I am busy working on a project during the day and forget entirely to focus on what I will make for dinner.

So, this is what I made.

Onion Strings from PW.

And the Rib-Eye Steaks.

That was all.

Not a potato in sight! No salad, no green veggie, no orange or yellow veggies either. And I have to admit that it wasn't all that bad! The meat was certainly center stage, and isn't that how a good steak should be?!?

Now here's the thing...

If you are going to make Onion Strings (which I highly recommend) and Rib-Eye Steaks with Whiskey Cream sauce,

BE SURE YOU HAVE A VENT HOOD IN YOUR KITCHEN!!

I do not.

When you do not have a vent hood and you are working with crazy-hot oil in large quantities and some gets spilled, there is bound to be some smoking. Oil does not smell good when it is smoking. Not for the first few minutes, or a little while later, or even after dinner. It just never smells good.

Yesterday the weather was quite breezy during the day. A nice storm was moving in from the west. However, when I put the pot of oil on the stove and opened the doors, the breeze magically disappeared leaving our house smoky for hours!

Once I removed the battery from the smoke detector at the top of the stairs we could hear again... but see?!?!?

Seeing is over-rated at dinner time, right?? Isn't that why we dim the lights and light candles? Or something.

Ok, you get the idea.

Just remember

Rib-Eye Steaks with Whiskey Cream Sauce and go make them!!

Yummo!

Worry

Admit it. You have been worrying about me haven't you. I could tell. You have been wondering if I stopped cooking. I haven't reported any new recipes made for over a week, so I think your fears are slightly justified.

Fear not, dear one! I have been cooking my heart out and keeping a list to show you!

So, since the last time I mentioned PW, I have made

1. Simple, Perfect Chili

2. Meat Loaf

3. Twice-baked Potatoes

4. Braised Beef Brisket

5. Cheese Grits

6. Patsy's Blackberry Cobbler

7. French Breakfast Puffs

8. Flat Apple Pie

9. Sherried Tomato Soup

10. Simple, Perfect Enchiladas

And then, I had 2 1/2 lbs. of ground beef still in the fridge and PW posted her recipe for Sloppy Joes on the blog, so I made them as well. I know they didn't come out of her cookbook, so I didn't count them. But I wanted you to know.

That makes a grand total of 43 recipes so far. I am so close to done that I have begun to think about what I will do after this project is over. Such as..."Which cookbook will I cook through next?"

I scanned through a couple others the night I made the sloppy joes, and from Southern Living Comfort Food I made Corn Pudding (which is a lot like scalloped corn that I make every Thanksgiving). And from The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen I made Butterscotch Pie, but I used a frozen pie crust from PW for the crust.

So you see, I have not fallen off the wagon, I am still here and working away.

Tonight is Ribeye Steaks with Whiskey Cream Sauce for sure. I still have to decide on a dessert, maybe Creme Brulee, or Red Velvet Cake??? There is also a Pineapple Upside-down cake that looks divine!

So many choices, so little time!

Have a great day!

The Little Black Hen Part II

This is the Little Black Hen. These are the first two chicks that she hatched. The lighter colored one was first. Then the darker one. And then...

This baby worked very hard to get free from it's shell.

Whew! Finally!!

Still all wet. Exhausted.

At last, dry and fluffy!

Amazing, isn't it!

The Kitchen Remodel

At last!! The long-awaited photo diary of our kitchen!!

Three cheers please!!

You should know that I now know how to get pictures from my phone to my blog! How exciting is that? I thought it was about time that I learned since Chelsea, my resident photo expert, will be gone for the whole summer!

So let's begin. Remember that this all took place from the second week of January till now.

Before...

Only the fridge was where you see the stove now. Notice the paint color change! We never painted behind the fridge!

This is the fridge where the stove used to be. Wow. Love all that clutter!!

This is the bottom of the antique cabinet that I have been telling you so much about. In this picture we had set it where we wanted it to be eventually. Then it got moved again until I got the old paint off of it.

This is the top of the antique cabinet before Glen rebuilt the sides and shelves. And before I stripped the paint, etc..

Ok. This was a really exciting moment for me! The moment that we uncovered the original hardwood floors!

Hello Beautiful! Welcome to my world!! I am so thrilled to have you here!

No turning back now! The soffit is removed. The top cabinets are gone. Lost some of the plaster removing the tile backsplash. Notice this color scheme...decades old...sunny yellow walls and a green ceiling!

Glen ran new wires for an outlet above the top cabinet and a couple extra outlets along the countertop. When he did that we learned that there is ZERO insulation in our old farmhouse. So after the wiring was done he installed a layer of foam to help a tiny bit. Then the beadboard went up over that.

(I love it when he wears his tool belt and gets to work!...especially on projects HERE at OUR HOUSE!)
Bead board primered.

Oh dear. This is a taste of reality when you are living through a project! Base cabinets are in, countertop and sink are in. Stove works! Coffee maker works! The rest...well, it will be a while! The curtain area is where the dishwasher will be. Yay!!!

The cabinet doors are on and the pulls and knobs installed. A squared-up version of bin pulls. I found them at Target for cheap!!

Ooops. This one is out of order, but it shows the new light fixtures going in. I do not miss the old florescent fixture! It was certainly time for an update!

Ta-da!! Three lights over the island! They are supposed to give a "nod" to the old school-house lights, but these were much, much cheaper!

We lived just like this for quite a while. No top cabinets, paint not finished, old island etc..

Till it got warm and I took that old cabinet outside to start stripping it. What a process!

Trying to find the old hardware.

Half stripped.

Rebuilt and painted and mounted to the wall!

From the dining room. I can tell I'm going to like it!

The bottom half in place as the island. Freshly painted with the old hardware. Doors are not on yet, but the plywood top is stained and sealed.

Whoohoo!! Another big day for me! Installing the doors with the hardware on the top cabinet!

The doors still have the original glass. It looks old, like it fits the age of the farm house, but it is fresh and new!

The view from the dining room. The dishwasher is in. Which appliance do you think I want to replace next??

Obviously, there are still jobs to do, like the glaringly, obvious soffit that needs to be repaired! There will be a vent hood above the stove and another cabinet beside that. Someday.

If you think about it, give my husband a call. Tell him what a great job he has done so far, and encourage him (gently) to go ahead and finish this project up! He will have a very, VERY happy wife when it's all done!

The Island

An entire day went by and no PW recipes. I was busy! Very, very busy!!

Last fall we acquired an antique cabinet that I knew I would have to work into my kitchen at some point. The cabinet sat out on the front porch all winter till we had a warm spell a couple of weeks ago. With the temperature in the high 60's that day, I dragged the top portion of the cabinet to a sunny spot in the yard and began the arduous task of stripping off layers of paint.

I have never refinished a piece of furniture before. It is a daunting task.

At first I though it would be fun. Slop on the goopy stuff. Wait till the paint bubbles up. Scrape it off.

Seems simple enough.

There are some things that you should know about me. I can't tell you all of them at once, but here is something I have told you before. I DON'T LIKE CLEANING! It is the mess factor I believe. Some people look at a mess and instantly see how to make it better. I think they can imagine what the space or object would look like organized and neat. They may even be able to visualize the sequential order of steps that they will need to take to get to that beautiful finished product.

Not me. When I see a mess my first reaction is to feel overwhelmed.

On the other hand, I love to paint. Painting offers instant gratification. Take something old and with a few swift strokes of the paint roller or brush...behold!!...a new room!! The transformation is quick and complete!

When I started working on the cabinet I thought (foolishly) that it would be a process somewhat equal to painting, but in reverse. I believed that the old, ugly paint would ALL magically disappear under deft strokes of the putty knife, leaving a fresh and shining surface ready for the proper finishing treatment.

So, I slopped on the goopy stripper. I waited till the paint was bubbled and peeling. I pulled on my heavy-duty gloves and applied the putty knife. Yes, most of the paint came off. but certainly not all of it, and not in the neat, tidy way I was anticipating.

The old paint mixed with paint stripper is a gloppy, sticky mess. It clings to the putty knife so you have to use something to take it off in between strokes. (I chose the blunt edge of a brick that first day.) The residue gets onto the gloves which then pass it to the putty knife. Soon it feels like everything you touch is coated with sticky goo.

I worked for a while on the cabinet and then stepped back to admire...I was horrified! It looked SO MUCH WORSE after an hour of work than it did before I started!! Multicolored streaks of paint still remained along with clumps and globs of the icky residue. Yuck!

I nearly threw in the towel right then. But I knew that there was no way out but forward. That mess, that complete disaster was going to hang on my freshly painted wall in the kitchen and hold my dishes IF IT WAS THE LAST THING THAT I DID.

I worked that day for a couple more hours and basically got the frame on the top cabinet done. Yesterday and today I tackled the bottom cabinet.

I had to keep my focus. I had to stay the course. I had to chant to myself...Keep moving forward, keep moving forward...ok, it wasn't that bad. But nearly!!

Before bed tonight all the drawers and doors and the base of the bottom cabinet that will be our new island had been stripped, sanded and primed with two coats of primer.

That is all I did today. No cooking. Just cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and I asked my darling husband to please bring something home for dinner.

Perhaps tomorrow will be a cooking day. I am ready to make PW chili!!

For the record, yesterday I did make the Beans and Cornbread recipe. Both were wonderful and I will make them again. I also fixed myself Huevos Hyacinth for breakfast.