Salmon with Honey Balsamic Glaze

17 Jul

I recently bought 2 packages of frozen salmon fillets at Fry’s, the Kroger brand salmon fillets.  On the back of the packaging was this recipe, and I thought I would give it a try.  I am tired of the plain old way I make salmon; brush with olive oil, sprinkle with lemon pepper, and cook on the George Foreman grill.  So, this was a nice change-up for us.  It was all ingredients I had on hand, so it was just a matter of mixing it up and brushing it on the salmon.  While it baked, I made Garlic Green Beans (this recipe, minus the cauliflower and Parmesan cheese).

Salmon with Honey Balsamic GlazeSalmon with Honey Balsamic Glaze
Recipe from a package of Kroger brand Atlantic Salmon Fillets

What you need:

4 salmon fillets, thawed and rinsed
1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Line a shallow baking pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Spoon mayonnaise into a small bowl.  Gradually whisk in the vinegar until smooth.  Whisk in the honey, sesame seeds, oregano, olive oil, and minced garlic.

Put the salmon in the baking dish, skin side down if there is skin.  Brush the tops and sides of all fillets with the glaze.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-18 minutes, or until the salmon flakes easily when tested with a fork.

 

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Our Hair Donation

17 Jul

Over the years, I have gone back and forth on hair styles.  Some were fairly long, some were short, some had bangs, some had color.  Having thick and curly hair makes it hard to do much with it; it’s hot and heavy in the summer, but too short and it gets a little hard to control.  So, I would let it grow out until I got tired of it, then cut it short again, let it grow, cut it short, etc.

Photos of my hair over the years

The last big cut was December 2011.  The picture in the bottom row, third from the right is from that Christmas.  It was fairly long, just past my shoulders.  Since I was home and could visit my go-to stylist, JoEtta Hill.  Most of my haircuts have been done by her since 1983, although I had a handful of visits to other salons when I couldn’t get in to see her.  She’s still the one cutting my hair, even through I’m in AZ now, during the visits I make back home. She’s also done both my girls first haircuts.

K's First Haircut July 2007

K’s First Haircut July 2007

Sophia's First Haircut June 2010

Sophia’s First Haircut June 2010

Anyway, back to my story.  The haircut at the end of December 2011, I went from a few inches past my shoulders to chin length hair.  New cut for the new year!  After I was done, JoEtta looked at the hair she had cut, and commented that I was really close to being able to donate my hair.  Shortly after my cut, a friend from college posted about her daughter, who had just cut and donated her hair.  At that point, I knew what I was going to do, grow my hair long enough to donate.  Later in the year, after learning of a very young girl with cancer in our town, Katie and I had a discussion about cancer, how the treatments cause people to lose their hair, and how there are programs to donate hair.  Katie has always had long hair, and she decided that she wanted to grow her hair to donate as well.  So, for all of 2012 and the first part of this year, we did just minimal trims as needed, and took good care of our hair.  I decided that we would donate through the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program, which has the following requirements:

  • Hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long
  • Hair must not be treated with dyes, bleaches, or chemicals
  • Hair must be no more than 5% gray

We both finally met the minimum length requirement this summer, so Katie and I made an appointment while we were visiting family (ok, actually one of us swiped my mom’s appointment, but she rescheduled for just after we left).  Here are some pictures of before, the ponytails of hair, and the after.

Katie's hair before

Katie’s hair before

Katie's ponytail of hair being cut

Katie’s ponytail of hair being cut

Katie just after the cut

Katie just after the cut

Katie's ponytail of hair

Katie’s ponytail of hair

My hair before

My hair before

My ponytail of hair being cut

My ponytail of hair being cut

JoEtta holding my ponytail of hair

JoEtta holding my ponytail of hair

My ponytail of hair

My ponytail of hair

Katie and I after our haircuts

Katie and I after our haircuts

It’s been quite a change to get used to for both of us!  This is the shortest that I’ve had my hair in quite a while, but I like it.  Katie and I are all set to see if we can grow it long again to donate!

JoEtta Hill is located at the new 125 Salon, 125 Parkway Drive, Pekin, IL.  Her phone number is 309-353-3316.  As I said earlier, she’s cut my hair for years, and I highly recommend her!

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Zaycon Foods Buffalo Wings and Chicken Tenders Event

17 Jul

This week, Zaycon Foods had a Buffalo Wings and Chicken Tenders event here in my area.  Since we enjoyed both last time, I decided to get them again.  The wings were pretty much the same, but the chicken tenders were fully cooked this time.

First, here are the Hot ‘n Spicy Buffalo Wings:

Zaycon Foods Hot 'n Spicy Wings

 

This time, they were $3.15 per pound, and came as four 5-lb bags.  Last time, the wings seemed a little on the small side, but this time they are larger and more like what I’ve seen eating out.  These are fully cooked, so they just need to be heated through.

Next, here are the Fully Cooked Breaded Chicken Tenders:

Zaycon Foods Fully Cooked Breaded Chicken Tenders

 

This picture is just half of the case.  I shared this case with a friend, and didn’t get a chance to take a picture until after she’d already picked up her share.  These were $2.19 per pound, and also came as four 5-lb bags.  The chicken tenders are in varying sizes, about medium-sized.  We will hopefully have a chance to try these out in the next few days.

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Broccoli Parmesan Ranch Twice-Baked Potatoes

17 Jul

I really like twice-baked potatoes, but they can be just a bit time-consuming to make.  I think next time, I might put the potatoes in the slow cooker to cook all day, then stuff and oven bake them at night.  For these, I used ranch dressing and broccoli, but there are other variations that could be done as well.  For example, sour cream or cream cheese instead of ranch, spinach in place of broccoli, cheddar cheese in place of Parmesan.  Or, add in some meat like bacon, cooked chicken or cooked ham.  You could make this just as your one-course for dinner having a meat and a vegetable mixed in.

 

Broccoli Ranch Twice-Baked Potatoes

 

Broccoli Parmesan Ranch Twice-Baked Potatoes

What you need:

4 large or 6 medium russet potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, diced
2 cups chopped broccoli
1/2 cup ranch dressing
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Thoroughly wash potatoes and pierce all over with a fork.  Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake for 45-60 minutes until soft.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Once potatoes have cooled, cut tops from potatoes, and scoop out the insides carefully to keep the skins like little bowls.  Mash the insides in a medium size mixing bowl.  Brush the skins with olive oil and return to the baking sheet.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet.  Add onion and broccoli; cook until soft.  Remove from heat and stir in with the mashed potatoes.  Mix in ranch dressing and grated Parmesan cheese.

Spoon the potato mixture into each of the potato skins.  It is fine  for it to come out of the top of the skin.  If desired, sprinkle with more grated Parmesan on top of each potato.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through.

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Loaded Baked Potato Salad

4 Jul

This was part of our 4th of July meal.  I looked around at a few different recipes before settling on this combination.  I think it turned out pretty good!

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

 

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

What you need:

2 pounds red potatoes, skins left on, and diced into 1″ pieces
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
8 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus some  for garnish
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
Chives, for garnish (optional)

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Lay potatoes on a baking sheet and spray with a little olive oil. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Allow to cool completely.

Once potatoes are cool, add them to a large bowl and mix in chopped hard-boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese.

In a separate small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, and mustard.  Pour over the potato mixture and stir in until well coated.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.  If desired, top with more shredded cheddar cheese and chives.

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Zaycon Events for July 2013

28 Jun

I usually post after an event, but wanted to post before some upcoming events so that you don’t miss out!  They have a number of events going on right now, although some are limited to certain areas.  The best way to know what is coming and available for your area is to create an account and sign up for their e-mails (here is my referral link to sign up) .  They are available now in 20 states!

Here is the list of current events happening:

  • Fresh 93/7 Super Lean Ground Beef
  • Fresh Premium Hickory Smoked Bacon
  • Fresh Strawberries
  • Hot ‘n’ Spicy Buffalo Wings
  • Natural Non-Homogenized Whole Milk
  • Orchard Peaches
  • Fully-Cooked Breaded Chicken Tenders

In my area, the bacon pick up was a little over a week ago.  Next up, is the chicken tenders and buffalo wings, which is mid-July for me.  Then, at the end of the month, the ground beef will be arriving.  I’m not sure yet if we’ll get peaches and strawberries, but I’m hoping that we do!  They sent out a message asking about interest for AZ, but I haven’t heard yet what the results were.

The milk isn’t available widespread yet, but they are doing a milk survey for interest.  You can find all the details on their milk here, and if you are interested, you can sign the petition on the right side to bring the milk to your area.  I signed because I would at least like to try it out.  The price is higher than what I am used to paying, but if it’s good, quality milk, I don’t mind paying more.

Finally, they sent out an e-mail asking about interest in cheddar cheese for Arizona.  If you are in Arizona and would be interested in cheese, I encourage you to fill out the survey.

So far, I have been very pleased with every event through Zaycon Foods, and have enjoyed having a freezer full of meat to pull for meals instead of remembering to get it at the store and catching it when it’s on sale.    I’m hoping that they come back with a seafood event soon, that was the one we really enjoyed, but it’s been a while since they’ve been here with it.  For now, we’re happy with the rest!

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Summer Squash, Sausage, and Egg Bake

26 Jun

This time of year, summer squash, like zucchini and yellow squash, seem to be in abundance.  One of my all time favorite dishes to make is Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie, either with just zucchini or a mix of zucchini and yellow squash.  However, my husband isn’t real fond of the crust.  So, I had experimented with a mashed potato crust, but still got mixed reviews from the family.  So, I decided to make it crust-less, using this recipe for inspiration.  I decided to use different cheese and not any additional seasoning since I added sausage.  We loved it!  Plus, I’m already working on other variations, no sausage, possibly ground beef, use oregano and basil to season, try out different cheeses.  It’s very versatile to be able to use what you have on hand!  I will hopefully update on my future combinations, but for now, here is the one I made last night.

Summer Squash, Sausage and Egg Bake

 

Summer Squash, Sausage, and Egg Bake

What you need:

1 pound sausage (I used Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage)
1 small onion
1 medium size yellow squash, cut into thin slices
1 medium size zucchini, cut into thin slices
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 large eggs, well beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a large skillet, brown sausage.  Do not drain fat.  Add onions, yellow squash, and zucchini, and cook until soft and translucent.  Stir in cream cheese until well blended.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together eggs, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese.

Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour the squash/sausage mixture into the dish.  Mix in the egg and cheese mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until sides are bubbling and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

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Table Makeover

26 Jun

My friend has been cleaning out and re-decorating her kids’ rooms.  In her daughter’s room, there is a space where she had her doll cars and other doll accessories, and wanted something the cars could slide under and then put things on top.  I had my old coffee table in the garage that had seen much better days, but thought it would be perfect for her need.  I did have to take a couple of pieces off one side for the doll car to fit underneath, but it was still steady enough without those pieces to be used.  The top also had a lot of scratches from my kids playing on it and banging their toys, so we needed to come up with a way to fix the top.  Here are pictures of pieces removed from the one side and the top with the scratches:

Side view of table, with removed bars from top and bottom Top view of table with scratchesSo, what to do with the top?  I decided it might be fun to get the kids involved.  We used the following supplies:

– 2 16 oz bottles of gloss finish Mod Podge ($7.47 each at Walmart)
– 1 can of Mod Podge gloss clear acrylic sealer ($5.97 at Walmart)
– 1 package of foam brushes, various sizes ($1.50 at Walmart)
– Scraps of paper in various shapes and sizes
– Scissors to cut different shaped edges (optional)

Start with larger pieces of paper.  Spread Mod Podge on the table where you want to place the paper, then press paper down.  Brush over paper with more Mod Podge to keep in place.  Repeat with each piece of paper until table is covered.  Allow to dry.

Cover entire surface with Mod Podge.  Allow to dry.  Repeat this 3-4 more times to get a good seal.

Spray on a couple of layers with the acrylic sealer, allowing to fully dry between each coat.

Our finished result was this:

Table with paper Mod Podged on

And, the table has new life, with a project cost of about $24 after tax!  Once I can get a couple of pictures of the table in her room, I will add in those pictures.

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Reading Hideaway

20 Jun

Last year, we got a really cool loft bed for my older daughter.  It’s got all kinds of storage and is really sturdy.  The first thing we did was enlist help from one of my husband’s co-workers to update the ladder and add extra rails on top.  He did a fantastic job!  We also put my younger daughter’s twin size bed in the opening to help save on floor space.

Loft bed before extra rails and upgraded ladder

Loft bed before extra rails and upgraded ladder

Loft bed after extra rails and upgraded ladder

Loft bed after extra rails and upgraded ladder

But, the loft bed has shelves built in the underneath part, so my younger daughter rolled into the shelves a couple of nights while sleeping.  Also, it was dark and enclosed, and she really didn’t like her bed in there.  So, I decided to move her bed on the other side of the room again, and move the bookshelves underneath the loft bed.  They don’t fit perfectly while still allowing room for the shelves built into the loft bed to be able to be used, but I think it still works out well.  You can get to books on the shelf still as it is.  I also bought a clip on desk lamp at Walmart for $8.97 that I clamped onto the shelves to give a little light to the area.  Then, I bought a spring tension rod at Walmart for $2.97 for some purple sheer curtains that I used to have as window coverings before switching to all thermal backed curtains (ah, the joys of living in AZ with the hot, hot sun!).  The curtains are a little long, but still work for the space.

Bookshelves in reading hideaway View of lamp in reading hideaway Reading hideaway with curtains closedThe girls both love it, and I love that I was able to convert the space using an item that was going unused (the curtains) and I only spent $12 to do it!

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Zaycon Foods BBQ and Bacon Events

19 Jun

Last month, Zaycon Foods had a BBQ foods event and I’m just getting around to posting the pictures!  The event included bacon-wrapped pork fillets, Gold Medal beef hot dogs, Gold Medal Polska kielbasa sausages, and pork loin “meaty” back ribs.  I really wanted to get all of it, but settled on the bacon-wrapped pork fillets and the beef hot dogs.

The bacon-wrapped pork fillets came frozen in a 10 pound box, which was 30 fillets, for $39.90 ($3.99/lb).  I split this case with a friend, so we each got 15.  Here is how the case looked:

Zaycon Foods Bacon-Wrapped Pork FilletsAt first, they seemed a little smaller than I was expecting, but actually, they are a perfect size.  I grilled these about a week after getting them, and they were really good.  My husband put his in a bun and had it like a sandwich.  I just cut mine and ate it.  Looking forward to enjoying the rest of these soon!

The Gold Medal beef hot dogs came frozen in a 10 pound package as well, which was 50 hot dogs.  It was $29.90, or $2.99/lb.  I kept this whole case myself, wishing I had gotten another!  Love these hot dogs, they are so good!  Here is how the case looked:

Zaycon Foods Gold Medal Beef Hot DogsThere was a little freezer burn on them, but while I had them out to re-package, some of that melted away.  I put them in packages of 4 and packages of 8.  We’re a family of 4, so I did the 4 for when I grill the hot dogs with something else, like brats or burgers, and the 8 for when we have just hot dogs or friends over.

Today, was the pick up for the fresh premium hickory smoked bacon event.  And, just in time because I’m down to my last couple packages of bacon.  They made some changes from the last event, the bacon is fresh, but was delivered frozen.  Which is fine because it all went in the freezer anyway since I still have some from the last event to use.  It was also packaged differently.  Last time, it was in two 15 pound packages, and this time there were twelve 3 pound packages.  Their reason for this was to make it easier to share the case with friends and family.  I haven’t decided if I will re-package this or not.  I’m sure we could eat 3 pounds of bacon at once, but I don’t think we should!   Anyway, there were 36 pounds total, and it cost $125.64, or $3.49/lb.  I shared this case with a friend, and here is my share of the bacon:

Zaycon Foods Premium Hickory Smoked Bacon

 

Next month, they have a chicken tender event and a ground beef event scheduled.  Definitely getting the ground beef, still undecided on the chicken tenders.

 

 

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