Travel has been an integral part of the fabric of our family since day one. Even before Kim and I were married, her parents used to let me come along on family vacations with them. I think they figured that if I wasn’t going, neither was Kim! So they let me come.

Great Trips Always Have Great Food!

One of our favorite family conversation starters always brings one of those trips with Kim and her folks to mind. Here is the question:

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?

We qualify the question be suggesting that the food itself can’t be the only criteria. The real “best meal” has to take into account the overall scene. Where were you? Who were you with? What was the weather, the surroundings, the sounds and smells. All of that goes into the answer.

It’s no easy task, and after twenty years of playing, we still love this game and then answers still change.

Stir Fried Fresh Fish and Conch – Stingray City Style

Stingray City is a dive site (scuba diving) just off the leeward coast of Grand Cayman, in the Cayman Islands. It is beautiful, it is tropical, and it is way fun! Snorkelers and divers are in for an adrenaline pumping treat as they enter the water surrounded by hundreds of huge stingrays.

We sailed out on a catamaran. About a dozen people, with our group being four of those. I still remember the thrill of laying on the net stretched between the front of the hulls and looking down into the crystal clear water. The ride out was worth the trip!

As we played in the water, the captain (and owner of the small boat) did a little bit of snorkeling of his own, but he had a spear. He speared plenty of fresh fish, and collected some conch shells, which anyone who’s been to Key West knows are great food! Then he stir-fried it all up on the deck of the little sailboat and served it fresh.

Swimming in the ocean one minute, on our plates a few minutes later. That’s fresh.

Of course I was highly enamored with the beautiful young girl who was my date for the trip, which didn’t hurt!

That meal, on the bow net of a catamaran, as the sun dropped low in the sky over the clear waters of Grand Cayman, was…

one of the best meals I’ve ever had!

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday ya’ll!  We had some fun last week with so many great recipes!  I hope you’ll be able to join us this week with a recipe, restaurant review, food tip…whatever.  The more the merrier, right?

It’s been soooo cold all across the country, even in Florida, and I’ve been craving some good, hot soup to warm us up!

Today I’m making Southwestern Soup and the smell alone is enough to make everyone hungry as they walk in the door!  I love soup simmering on the stove!  And it’s much easier than it looks!

Southwestern Soup

• 1 1b ground beef
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (16-oz.) cans light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes and jalapenos, undrained
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes and mild green chilies, undrained
• 1 (14-oz.) can beef broth
• 2 cups frozen yellow and white whole kernel corn
• 1 (1-oz.) envelope taco seasoning mix
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Toppings: sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro

1. Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 to 12 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink and onion is softened; drain.
2. Stir in kidney beans, next 8 ingredients, and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in cilantro just before serving. Serve with desired toppings.

I added less of the canned tomatoes and peppers so it wouldn’t be too hot for us! Hey…we like stuff a little on the mild side!

I baked up some cornbread to go along with it…YUM!

I thought about making cornbread from scratch…and then I came to my senses. I found this wonderful mix and it’s a new favorite! Our youngest son wanted to know if I would make it for him everyday!  The flavors of the cornbread and the soup made for a great combination!

This whole meal was really simple to make. Brown the meat, onions, and garlic, throw everything else in, and move on to painting your nails (don’t you wish?) until it’s time to eat! That’s just the kind of recipe I need during the week.  I think it would be yummy with chicken or maybe even some tortilla chips as a topping!  

Tim saw me taking photos of the soup and he had to give it a try right then! He gives it “two thumbs up!”

I did try a couple recipes from last week’s party, and they both turned out great!  When I saw the recipe for Nonnie Bear’s Bacon Bow Tie Pasta I realized I already had most of the ingredients…it was a big hit! Then we needed dessert, so I tried TidyMom’s Chocolate Crescents recipe, and I’ll just say that they were fighting over who would get the last one!

I think all my boys are pretty happy about this new food bloggin’ party stuff!  

Now let’s see what everyone else brought to our Tasty Tuesday blog party this week!

Now don’t forget to put a link back to us in your post so the party will be more fun for everyone!  You can use the button over in our sidebar if you would like.  Or, if you want to go huge, you can grab the image at the top of this post!  Of course, if orange just isn’t your color…you can do a simple text link!

Welcome, one and all, to the soon to be famous ForeverWherever.com’s Tasty Tuesday Parade of Food!  While it may be new to you today, there will come a day when you will have Tasty Tuesday zipped to you every week wherever you shall roam!  Recipes and food ideas from all of the world’s greatest kitchens will grace our pages week-in and week-out.  No one will ever be without a great meal idea again!

Right?  That’s how this whole blog thing works isn’t it?  Just have an idea…think it’s great…put it on your blog and voila! Right? 

That’s what I was thinking when I started this idea anyway… but now it’s almost time for the party to start, and I’m starting to worry!  What if nobody comes?  I wish my mom knew how to work the computer a little better!

When we came up with the idea for Tasty Tuesday I thought…perfect!  I love to cook and my boys love to eat.  I knew that if I was ever drawing a blank on what to do for the big blog party, all I would need to do is ask for suggestions.  No shortage of food suggestions around here!

So I asked for a suggestion “Hey Tim, what do you think I should make for the Tasty Tuesday food?  It’s gotta be good!”  I wasn’t surprised when he came up with a long string of options, (read on to find out how he totally messes me up later) the winner is: 

Bangers & Mash!

We’re making Bangers and Mash!  Have you ever tried it?  It’s a great winter food and the taste is out of this world!  Using this recipe the taste is totally authentic!  It’s just like being in a good ole English Public House!

The first time we tried it we were in London!  We love to try local food (usually…not everywhere!!), and this one was so much better than I thought it would be! 

I later found this great cookbook at Williams-Sonoma and Bangers and Mash has been a regular meal in our house ever since!  The photos of London and all it’s great food are just beautiful!

Bangers and Mash with Red Onion and Wine Gravy                                                

• 2 lb good-quality pork sausages
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil

For the Gravy

•  2 tablespoons unsalted butter
•  1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 red onions, halved and finely sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour (plain)
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 cup red wine, such as Shiraz
• 1 cup homemade chicken or beef stock
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the sausages in a roasting pan, drizzle with the oil, toss to coat, and spread out in a single layer.  Bake, turning them after 15 minutes, until evenly colored, about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make your mashed potatoes.
3. To make the gravy, in a wide, shallow nonreactive saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.  Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until collapsed, about 4 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook the onions for about 20 minutes until soft.  Raise the heat to medium-low.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook until evaporated.  Stir in the red wine and stock, raise the heat to medium, bring to a boil, and simmer until a luscious sauce forms, about 10 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Divide the sausages and mash among warmed individual plates.  Spoon gravy over the sausages and serve at once.

My tips:  Stir frequently.  Add extra flour for thicker gravy.  Put gravy on those mashed potatoes –Yum!

I love tons of gravy, so I might even make extra next time!

Here is where you should see all my pictures, right…the ones where the girl throwing the PARADE OF FOODS BLOG PARTY!!! shows all the hard work she put into the meal… you know, for the invited guests!…

Well that’s where my brilliant Tim comes in.  Picture this…we’re out on Sunday afternoon enjoying a beautiful sunny day.  Our plan is to bounce around town a little getting some pictures for his (also soon to be famous!) greeting cards (see the first few on the right).  Then it’s to the grocery store for all the fresh ingredients. Then home to make it all up good!

So it’s going fine when Tim says “Hey, let’s just go over to the Celtic Ray and get the Bangers and Mash there! They’re not as good as yours, but…”  Did I fall for that?  I did!  So that’s what we did! 

Now I’m totally mortified that I’m about to have a party with all store bought food!  But hey…the idea  for Tasty Tuesday is that it’s any food, homemade or not.  We were hoping for some restaurant reviews! And I can make this stuff and I promise it looks even better when I do!  Tastes better too…but the Celtic Ray does a great job of it.  I guess the fish and chips will fall as they may…it’s too late now.  It’s all Tim’s fault!

Here’s a local Punta Gorda pub that makes Bangers and Mash!    

The Celtic Ray

145 E. Marion Ave.

Punta Gorda, FL  33950

They also have great Fish and Chips!  

One of the things that always gets me back to this place is these cool swinging tables they have outside.  They sit right on the sidewalk and it’s a really nice place to sit when the sun is shining bright in the winter, or a cool night in the summer.

So…Bangers and Mash is my contribution and I’m sticking to it!

Now it’s time to see what you’re bringing to our Tasty Tuesday Parade of Food!  If you don’t have anything, just run out to McDonald’s and do a post on Cheeseburgers… I won’t throw any stones!

In any case, thanks for coming, and I’m not going to give up…next week, Lord willing, I will make something wonderful in my own kitchen!

Don’t forget to kindly mention ForeverWherever in your post and link back to us.  Also, when you do the Mr. Linky thing, be sure to put a link to your post itself, rather than your homepage so, years from now, when culinary historians are scouring the links of Tasty Tuesday looking for some great inspiration, they get to your original post!

Join in and let’s have some fun!

 Do you need something easy to make for the bowl game?  Having a party doesn’t need to be a ton of work when you keep the snacks simple.

These easy meatballs are sure to be gone by half-time!

Ingredients:

• 3-5 lbs frozen cooked meatballs
• 32 oz grape jelly
• 24 oz chili sauce ( I use 2 – 12 oz jars of Heinz Chili Sauce)
• Season with salt, pepper, or hot pepper

Throw it all in a large pot or crock pot and simmer for 2 hours.

That’s it!  Stick some little toothpicks in them and your finished!

There is another version of these meatballs that substitutes BBQ sauce in place of the chili sauce.  Then add 1 teaspoon of Liquid Smoke and you have BBQ Meatballs.

I’m all about easy cooking around here, but if you love to make meatballs you can make them from scratch.

My boys like to make meatball sandwiches out of them!

Enjoy!

Check out all the great ideas over at Works-For-Me-Wednesday hosted by Rocks In My Dryer!

Sign up for our giveaway….Calgon, Take Me Away!

Santa Fe.  It’s one of those places that makes you want to become a novelist.  You imagine sitting in a café on the Plaza sipping a steaming cup of some special “local’s only” coffee.  You exchange greetings with the regulars as they come and go, while spinning a yarn about the special, sometimes surreal, people and places which surround you…

Insert sound of brakes and locked up tires…screech!  Wake up, smell the Maxwell House reality!  Two kids, two dogs, bills to pay, remember?

Oh yeah, right, all that.  But hey, truth be told, that’s what makes it even better to be here.  Where else can we bring our boys and treat them (and us) to a breakfast of Huevos Rancheros aside a 200 year old city square made of adobe?  The Plaza in Santa Fe is the center of the downtown area, and today it’s blanketed in snow! 

The street vendors abound, selling handmade jewelry, paintings, woodcarvings, pelts of fur, you name it!  The sounds of deal making, the colors of all of it, and the ever present watchful eye of an older Native American sitting at her booth, give the place real character!

 At night, they light up the Plaza with those paper bag thingys with the candle…???  Lumenaries, that’s it!  All around the roof tops of the terraced adobe buildings.  Combined with Christmas lights in the central park, it’s very beautiful.

 I could go on and on about the architecture, the layout of the city, the myriad nooks and crannies and tiny secret back alleys.  I love this place!  However, you really need to hear about the shopping!  Kim will do a better job than I telling about that!

The side streets and alley ways are lined with little shops selling hot chili peppers, flowers, silver, turquoise, and handmade sweaters.  The colors and sounds are sure to make you want to buy something! 

 In the center of town there is a Native American Market where each vendor has a blanket or two of goods…no tables!  They sit on the ground (yes, the cold ground)  ready to bargain with the next passing tourist.  It’s fun to shop for little trinkets of silver and turquoise and have something to take home as a reminder of this wonderful town!

There are so many unique art galleries and shops that it’s a treat to just wander in and out of them until you find more then you want to carry around!  The boys love to visit a rock shop and I can always be found at Chico’s!   

 Shopping, art, architecture, history, just the whole atmosphere makes Santa Fe one incredible place to visit.

 While we were trying to get to all 48 states, we sometimes went in a direction that wouldn’t be our first choice. 

The first city we returned to with no real agenda, was Santa Fe, New Mexico.  It’s a must see!  We’ll see more on Monday, then head up to Taos!

Easy Reindeer Cookies

Looking for a short break from the holiday rush?  Maybe a little family time in the kitchen will do the trick.

In the past, I’ve made tins and tins full of cookies for family and friends, but this year I’m going to take it a little easier! (Hey, I’m not Superwoman!)  Today I made ONE (not4, not 5) kind of cookie with my boys.  Even though they are a little older (14 and 10) I was able to tempt (bribe) them with food to help me out in the kitchen.

Easy Reindeer Cookies are awesome for kids of all ages!  Admit it, you’ve gotta like the idea of a cookie that looks like a reindeer!  This won’t take long and the kids will have fun memories of making them with you.  Oh, and it makes the house smell wonderful!!

Easy Reindeer Cookies

• 1 (20 oz.) package of refrigerated scliceable peanut butter cookie dough. (OK, so these are semi-homemade cookies)
• 60 (2-inch) tiny pretzel twists
• 60 semisweet chocolate chips
• 30 red M&M’s (Oh my, what will we do with all these other colors?)

1. Freeze the dough for 15 minutes. (Don’t skip this part or let the kids eat half the cookie dough!)
2. Cut dough into 30 (1/4-inch thick) slices.
3. Place 4 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Using thumb and forefinger, pinch in each slice about two-thirds of the way down to shape the face.

5. Press a pretzel on each side of the larger end to make the antlers.  Press in chocolate chips for the eyes, but don’t put that nose on yet!

6.  Bake at 350 for 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned.

7. Remove from the oven, and press in a red M&M for his nose! (I LOVE that part but the kids fought me for it!)  Cool on the cookie sheets 2 minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool.

Nose so Bright!

This recipe is SUPPOSED to yield 30 cookies, but I never end up with more than 15 or so.  I guess I make fat reindeer!  This recipe is from the Christmas with Southern Living cookbook.

Well, everything turned out great!  We had one kitchen towel fight break out, but no one was injured!  Our reindeer are a little on the chubby side, but they’re cute and yummy!  I hope you enjoy making these cookies with your kids, and let me know how they turn out!  – Kim

The Staff

Here we have a few great things…things that make ya say “Yay!”  

Oranges that Tim picked from the tree in our yard this morning.  Well, to be honest, it’s our neighbors tree and it hangs WAY over our fence! (Hey, don’t judge!)  They’re sweet, juicy, and disappearing fast!  Our teenager is eating every time I turn around!

The flowers are from Tim!  He brought them home for me last night to help make the house even more festive!  Isn’t he sweet?  They are the prettiest white flowers and they should last for a couple weeks!  He did a GOOD job!

Do you know what these are?  They are the most amazing marshmallows on earth!  We purchased Chocolate Covered Homemade Marshmallows for gifts this year and these beautiful Vanilla Cinnamon Marshmallows came with them! ”Where did I get these wonderful creations?”, you might ask.  From Cupcakes In Jars on Etsy!  Well, we have shops on Etsy and I was “pouncing” around one day and happened to see these lovely sweets.  (For those of you that aren’t Etsy Fanatics, I’m talking about a list of recently sold items with photos and it’s addictive!)   Scrolling through her shop made me think I might need a few things!  But, like any good shopper, I decided to check the shop’s feedback first and see what had been said about these marshmallows.  The comments were the most positive I’ve ever read!  People ordering for the second and third time, going on and on about them.  Could they really taste that much different than good old Stay-Puff?  Hmmm?  I ordered a bunch!  I love to make handmade gifts for everyone, but this year I’ve been so busy making hair clips for my shop I thought it best to have someone else help me out!  Try some for yourself, but I’m just warning you that you may never want a regular marshmallow again!  Here’s the link to Danielle’s wonderful shop:  http://cupcakesinjars.etsy.com

Oh, and no, she didn’t pay me off with wonderful candies and cupcakes to say so many nice things about her shop!