In the words of my Husband...

"French fries are just a means of getting the ketchup to your mouth."

In the words of my five year old (3 years ago): "More kappitch please."

In the words of my two year old: "Dip, dip, diiiiiippp!"

That's right folks, my family loves ketchup--except for me. Oh, it's not bad, it just isn't what I prefer. They eat it on chicken nuggets and in beef stew, on eggs and potatoes. It leaves red rashes on my little one's faces and still they dip on. I must say in high school, ranch dressing was my condiment of choice for fries and nuggets, but it is shunned in our current household (who doesn't like ranch??), also except for me, although I can't stand the stuff out of a bottle, but I could drink my homemade version. So I now go for plain fries--or even fry sauce is better than ketchup--and equal parts dijon mustard and apricot jam for my nuggets, honey mustard at McDonald's. I take a good amount of hot pepper sauce on my eggs and sour cream on my potatoes.

Now I want to know what you like. I don't mind if you are closed-minded ketchup freaks. Crazy or not, tell me your favorite dips, sauces and condiments and what you eat them on. Come on, people. I need a laugh.

Warning

You know those cute little light sticks you give your kids on Halloween? You bend them and they light up and they say NON-TOXIC on their packages. I would show you a picture of one only I immediately rid my house of the pests after this incident (which unfortunately has nothing to do with cooking only that it went in my kid's mouth and then ruined the kitchen table).


So, apparently the outer plastic coating is the non-toxic part they refer to, because if you bite one open and leave it on your table, it will melt your varnish. Yes, completely dissolved away and stained forever. If you do not want this to happen to your child's esophagus, I suggest you disregard the NON-TOXIC part and get yourself a flashlight.

No soup for you!

Sheesh, you'd think I was the soup Nazi! Are there no soup recipes to be had, you ask? Well, I'd better get a move on. SOUP RECIPE #1:

White Chicken Chili:

1 Tb. olive oil

2 lb. boneless skinless chicken

1 onion, chopped

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

4 oz. can diced green chiles

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried cilantro
15 oz. can white beans, rinsed

small can green enchilada sauce (opt.)

Cube chicken and cook with onion in oil 5 min. I skipped this step and used cooked, shredded from the freezer. Add broth, chiles & spices. Simmer 15 min. Add beans and enchilada sauce if you choose. Heat through. Top with Monterey Jack or crushed tortilla chips.

By the way, the enchilada sauce is my friend Georgia's "secret ingredient" and I only put the "optional" part for your benefit. At our house it is mandatory.

Wait for the first snow! I will post my mother-in-law's traditional Cream of Broccoli Soup, which is unbelievable.

My New Refrigerator Magnets

And you thought My Little Ponies were only good for one thing...(Can anyone tell me why these horsies have magnets on their hooves and how my daughters discovered it?)

Canning Season

There is something completely satisfying about putting bottled food on your shelves. It may be the "I just saved $2.50 a jar on that apricot jam!" or the "I only eat my mom's pickles, so you should learn how to make them," from my husband, but I absolutely adore looking at jars of food I have canned myself. So here they are: apricot jam from my tree--next year I will pick them underripe (before the birds get the lot of them) and ripen in brown bags; Heather's zucchini relish--my first batch, (zucchini from my garden, most else from the store) and rather tasty if I do say so; Husband's mom's pickles--they really are the best and her 4 cucumber plants have produced some 26? quarts so far; and beets from MIL's garden and mine--mine are the one inchers, though I planted a month earlier than she did click here for my excuse (if you haven't noticed, even I don't visit my garden blog anymore).