Kitchen Goodies

This weekend I spent some quality time with my cookbook trying to find a good rhubarb jam AND rhubarb pie recipe.  I wanted to broaden my horizons, especially because our rhubarb needed a good plucking (again I might add).

I ended up deciding that jam might be too much work (for the time I had) but I would definitely put it on my to-do list for the future.  In the end I found a good recipe from a cookbook my MIL gifted me a few years back.  I have never made a pie.  Let me amend that, I have never made a pie crust.  The last time I tried it was for quiche and it was a disaster. 

Now that it is all said and done, the hubby and I definitely think I could have used more water in the dough (I put in the recommended amount, then a little more, then a little more....).  It was definitely flaky but maybe a bit too much.  It was definitely a test of patience (and throwback to pottery class in high school) getting the bottom crust in and patching up some of the edges.  When it came time for the top crust, I was excited because it looked even better than the bottom and I was feeling all smug and happy...until I went to move it from the counter to on top of my pie and pieces of it started to tear apart from each other.  In the end I had one nice smooth pretty side and one really ugly obviously patched together poorly side.  (I probably should have rerolled the whole thing, but I just wanted to get it in the oven)

I could hardly wait for it to cool down before slicing myself up a piece.  One word: delicious!  The hubby gave his seal of approval and even teased me that the crust was 'tough' (a sweet family joke).

Tonight for Father's Day we bought steaks and potatoes and I found an easy recipe for breaded vegetables.  My son isn't a big fruit/vegetable eater.  Occasionally you can get him to eat a few cooked carrots and he'll eagerly eat spinach lasagna, but anything else and it's a total no-go.  I have always wondered if he'd be more open to the thought of vegetables if they were breaded and he could dip them in ketchup/ranch/etc.  Tonight I chopped up our carrots into baby size and washed up some mushrooms.  The recipe calls for bread crumbs but I used Shore Line (I think that's the brand) breading; you mix it with Parmesan cheese and basically shake and bake it.

They turned out tasty, especially the mushrooms!  My son enjoyed them so much he had 5 of the carrots.  Which is a huge win in my eyes :)  Next time we do this I want to use green beans or asparagus.  Yum.

That's the work out my oven got this weekend, what about yours?