Lady Ford's Blog About Everything!

Brad made an awesome stew tonight with tons of fresh veggies. Plus, the crock pot does all the work! - 1 lb stew meat, cut into bite size pieces - 5 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 6 sections each - 1 med. yellow onion, sliced or diced according to preference - 2 med. portabella mushroom caps - cut into ~ 1'' x 1'' pieces - 3 home grown jalapenos, seeds removed * - 1 1/2 tsp vegetable bouillon or beef bouillon + coordinating water msrs - 1/3 stick butter - Season with: 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 T Hickory salt, 1 T chipotle powder, 1 T garlic powder - 1 can stewed tomatoes (to be added later) Roux (added near end of cooking) 1/4 stick melted butter & 1/4 cup flour Layer all ingredients in crock pot, except mushrooms. Mix together. Layer mushrooms on top so they steam & don't get to soggy. Cook on high 3 1/2 hrs or low for 7-8. Near end of cooking time, make roux by melting butter and then mixing in flour. Add mixture to stew, mix well. Add 1 can stewed tom...

Tried out a few new recipes and concoctions last night, great results! Mexican Inspired Salad: Dressing: - 1 cup plain low fat yogurt - 1 cup lite sour cream - 4-6 T. Jalapenos - 1/4 cup cilantro - Juice of 1 lime (add more if you like) - Fresh minced garlic, 5 cloves - S & P to taste Chop garlic, add to food processor along with jalapenos & cilantro. Add yogurt, cream, lime juice & s/p. Can be used immediately or chilled in fridge for a few days. Also, great as a vegetable dip! Salad: - 1 Head Romaine, torn into bite size pieces - 1 large tomato, diced - 1 Red Pepper, diced - 1 Avocado, diced - Bacon Bits 1/8 cup (reduced fat) - Grated Manchego cheese, 1/4 - 1/2 cup Toss salad with dressing. Top each serving with prepared tortilla strips. Enjoy!

Last night Brad and I had the pleasure of joining the Stein's for dinner at Le Fou Frog in the City Market. Absolutely the best meal we have eaten in Kansas City, hands down! Seriously, check it out. Not a mexican priced dinner by any means, but totally worth the Benjamin's. 5 courses, champagne, wine and port (decision on that following). A 3 1/2 hour dinner, full of excitement, delicious flavors and laughter. This was a night we will always remember!!!!! 1st course - cleansing dish: totally interesting bit of chicken liver something w/ a pickle inside. Weird. 2nd course - appetizers and bread. We shared escargot, cheese, and shrimp gruyere pastry puff 3rd course - soup/ salad: lobster bisque for me, manhattan clam chowder for Brad and a bite of our friends warm fig and goat cheese salad. 4th course - entre: Brad had rack of lamb, seasoned with fresh herbs, horseradish and mustard with a side of ratatouille. I had Branzini on a bed of crab and goat cheese risotto (amazing!). ...

Amazing pasta dish, great for getting a good mix of carbs and protein Sauce: Olive Oil 16 garlic cloves chopped or pressed 1 Onion diced 1 Bell pepper chopped Lots of spinach (used about 12 cups or 1 bag) Sliced mushrooms Prepared Pesto Skim Ricotta Cheese Ground turkey 96/4 (cook in other pan, drain, add to sauce when complete) Season with sea salt, pepper and red pepper Prepare pasta of your choice while sauce cooks. We use protein pasta. Once veggies are simmered add 1/8 cup pesto per serving to sauce. Cook additional 5 min till warmed. Add ricotta and cook a few additional minutes till warm.

Great alternative to regular hamburgers... 1 lb. 97/3 ground turkey season with: chipotle seasonings flavored bread crumbs sea salt pepper top grilled buns with: grilled onions & mushrooms Layer buns w/ onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, sliced avocado, diced canned green chilies, low fat pepper jack cheese. This can definitely be made kid friendly by substituting the chipotle seasoning for another seasoning such as Lipton onion soup mix. Sub out pepper jack for cheddar or American cheese.

This is another crock pot chicken recipe. Very easy and can be prepared the night before. The list of ingredients are below, but I definitely think it could be modified. 1 Whole Chicken Chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil about ¼ cup Diced Garlic Cloves – about 20 1 cup tomatillo salsa or “Salsa Verde” ¼ cup onion Marinade: ½ cup lime juice Garlic Powder ½ tsp Sea Salt Pepper ¼ cup bbq sauce (this was a Brad add) ¼ cup Asian Sesame dressing (“ “ , thought I was going to be really made when I tasted it, but honestly it was really good!) Brad injected the chicken right before putting in the crock pot. Cook on low about 4-5 hours. Served with protein pasta & light sauce Sauce: 1 can light coconut milk 2 T brown sugar 2 T Soy Sauce About 1 ½ cups chicken juice moved from crock pot (ok if tomatoes, onions are moved) ¼ - ½ cup flour Mix all ingredients except flour. Sift in flour slowly till combined. Pour sauce over pasta and chicken. We topped with more garlic (yes I know!) and a ...

This recipe comes with warning: 1. This is a weekend recipe. 2. I make a LARGE batch, enough for 2 or 3 lasagnas, and freeze the extra. 3. Total prep time varies by how many veggies you want to include and chop. Also, a food processor is super helpful! 4. BUT, the perks are, at least 1 or 2 additional dinners are ready and waiting in your freezer for you! Ingredients in today's recipe 2 large sweet onions, diced 25-30 cloves garlic (like I mentioned before, I am a garlic freak. Just found you can buy pre-peeled cloves in a giant jar at Costco.) Fresh or dried Basil Fresh of dried Parsley Olive Oil Salt & Pepper Sugar (1/8 cup for sauce, 2 T for Ricotta) Crushed Red Pepper 1 package fresh broccoli florettes (diced in food processor) Spinach - hard to estimate how much I used, but I used a lot. I would say 1 grocery store size package Portabella mushrooms, chopped Green Onions 1 Red Bell Pepper - diced 1 Yellow Pepper - diced 1 Orange Pepper – diced 1 frozen package chopped zucch...

Subtitle: This is why I get out of bed at 5:30 am to go to the gym during the week. I am 100% serious that this was the BEST meal Brad and I have ever made in our house! Surpassing all other meals, this was the meal of all meals. Pre warning, this is definitely a weekend meal, takes time and was oh so worth it. Food is meant to be enjoyed, and not always skimping on the calories. Needless to say, that was that meal. Details are: 1. Filet -Sent to us in this amazing package from Texas 2. Jumbo Shrimp 3. Lime Cilantro Linguine - from Pappardelle's Pasta. If you haven't already heard me talking about this pasta, now is the time for you to listen. GET IT. It will change your life. It puts regual boxed pasta in a corner. Full of flavor, every kind we have had has been amazing! Get on the website, google Pappardelle's Pasta, or visit them at the city market (where we originally found one of their vendors). 4. Portabella Mushrooms 5. Champagne & Wine 6. Low (er) fat Creme Brul...

Ok, so the original version of this recipe came from Cooking Light, and it's in their " Recipe Hall of Fame", and let me tell you, it's clearly there for a reason! This stuff rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I adapated the recipe a bit, 1- to be less expensive, and 2- ingredients. Original recipe + modifications below. Ingredients: 2 cups boiling water 1 cup dried porcini mushrooms - about 1 oz 1 14 oz can beef broth 1 cup Arborio rice 3/4 shallots - yes exact! I know!!! 2 garlic gloves minced - used 4 cloves 1/2 cup dry white wine - subbed with 1/2 white half red 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese - subbed with parmesian & romano 1 T chopped fresh thyme - used dried still tasted great 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese - 1 T per serving to keep calories in check fresh thyme leaves (optional) Subs- Porcini's are $$$, so i used regual chopped mushrooms. Brad cooked them in a few T of red wine, and a tiny bit of salt. 2 Cups boiling water was o...

This is an ultra fast, delicious and cheap meal. When I say ultra, I mean ultra. Total prep time is under 20 min. I found a recipe that lead me to this, I edited as always. 1 whole chicken (Costco $4) 1 pkg. crinkle cut carrots 1 12oz jar cherry preserves 1/2 cup cooking wine (I used white it called for red, but I was misinformed by my hubby that we had red.) 1/8 cup brown sugar salt and pepper 2 T balsamic vinegar In a small sauce pan bring preserves, wine, sugar and salt to a boil. Boil, stirring often till thickened, about 8 min. Place chicken in Crock Pot breast up, add carrots, salt and pepper bird and carrots. Make a few slits in the breast of the chick. Pour cherry mixture over chicken, use a spoon or knife to hold open slits. Cherries should fall into the slits. Juice will fill up slits and fall around chicken. Cook on low 4-5 hours. We wanted quick and easy, so we did some instant potatoes and gravy on the side. Not everything needs to be complicated! Use chicken broth instead...

So, I guess you could call this recipe a win lose. I thought it was pretty darn good, Brad & Matt thought way too much lemon. I actually followed a recipe, well, as close as I can. So, here's what I made, and how I'll revise it. I know some of you, Tracy, especiall you, love lemon, you would LOVE this recipe. Maybe serve lemons on the side if others don't care for lemon as much. Marinade: 1 1/2 lbs shrimp 6 garlic cloves - I used 8 barely could taste it 2 T EVOO 2 Lemons Zested + Juice of 1 lemon salt & pepper to taste. Edited & tried - I will keep garlic amount, take it down to 1 lemon zest and a tiny bit of juice. I marinted about 6 hours, definitely could reduce time to 20-30 min. Risotto: 1 1/2 cups Aborio Rice 3 cups chicken broth + 1 1/2 cups water 1 Large shallott, diced finely EVOO 2/3 cup dry white wine 1/4 tsp salt & pepper 1 lemon zested + 3 T lemon juice 1 Cup Fontina Cheese 1/2 Cup fresh chopped basil Serves 4 In one med. size sauce pan, simmer ...

Soup anyone? No soup Nazi here! Trying a new concotion tonight, Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup. It's simmering right now. I think I've had my first recipe viewer!!! Thanks Megan! YEAH! I'll let you all know how the soup turns out. More than likely going to top it with goat cheese, so I can't imagine it being bad. Needless to say, most things warm right now are delightful!

Hello again.... So, it seems in the last month or so, I have been telling everyone all kinds of different recipes, how to cook this, that, etc. I just absolutely love cooking, and the more I do it, the more I like it. And, like anything else, apparently you get better the more you practice. Love it. I watched the Julie & Julie movie and it all made great sense, how fun to share so much over food. Food makes life so fun. Ok, I forgot to mention this, I am Italian. That should explain a lot! I love to eat, and I love to cook. But, I'm not like Paula Deen or Rachel Ray, obviously your food is going to taste good with heavy cream, butter, sugar, candied walnuts, and 3 cups of cheese! Get real!!! It's much harder to cook with healthy ingredients. And, here we are.... recipe #1 that sparked me to create this lovely little blog. Oh my gosh, I need to forewarn everyone: I measure about 2% of the time. For the purpose of this, I am going to guesstimate as best I can, I'm probabl...

Wow, welcome to me and you to this place called a blog. I didn't know I could create such a thing so easily. Of course, leave it to google to make things super easy! I am going to start of with a disclaimer that will stand for as long as I blog: 1) Sometimes I don't write in full complete sentences. 2) I like to use dashes --- a lot! 3) I like to type like I talk and think... I think it makes more sense, and is more fun that way. 4) I am not the worlds best speller, but luckily this thing has spell check. Get over it if something is spelled wrong. I'm not Dougie Hauser. 5) I like to say what I'm thinking, get over it if I offend you. I don't accept cry babies. The End. Happy entertainment!!!!