Tag Archives: kitchen stories\

Eating the Opponent: Minnesota

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In the beginning, I found Minnesota difficult in Eating the Opponent. Minnesota is so much like Wisconsin, it was hard to find something that was uniquely Minnesota that wasn’t also generally Midwest or Wisconsin type, too. Eventually, we found this.

Classic Tater Tot Hotdish

Easy to cook, delicious comfort food, and very Minnesot’n.

We’ve also made elk meat chili (anything wild game is good), wild rice (often says Minnesota on the package), and good old SPAM. In fact, today we’re planning brunch of pancakes with leftover caramel apple chunks and SPAM on the side. Take that, Vikings!

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Crock Pots and Me

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I remember a day when I asked Chuck to bring up the two biggest crock pots from the basement so I could begin processing tomato sauce. My sister-in-law asked, “Daisy, how many crock pots do you have?”

I couldn’t answer immediately. I had to think about it. Back in the heyday of the Mom Blogs there was a blog called Crock Pot 365; her goal was to use a slow cooker of some type or size every day for a year. I loved her recipes. Me? I don’t use them every day, but I do use them often.

On the left: butternut squash, simmering until suppertime. I’ll serve it mashed with butter and brown sugar.

On the right: the Little Dipper, with a chopped apple and caramel. A side dish with lunch.

How many do I own? Let’s see: three large (6 quart), two medium (3 or 4 quart size), the Little Dipper, and a Medium Dipper (2 quart). That’s seven – and that’s not counting the old one in the garage that we don’t use for food. It’s handy for a number of tasks.

Could I use a slow cooker every day for a year? Maybe. I’m more likely to pull out the big ones for canning projects like broth or tomato sauces. The 3 and 4 quart sizes are the ones I use the most. Chili, soups, fall basics. Today, butternut squash. During apple season, the Little Dipper is handy. Today it holds one large Honey Crisp apple, chopped, and a spoonful of caramel for a topping. Not only can this apple treat be a side dish, but I’ve added caramel apples like these to oatmeal or Dutch baby pancakes. Yum!

Eating the Opponent: New York Giants still remains. Since the Giants actually play in New Jersey, we’re going to start with Jersey Bagels. New York style pizza is an option, but we’ve had a lot of pizza lately. We might want to go a different route. Stay tuned, readers. Our Packers seem to need all the help they can get.

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Oh, Those Eagles

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My Packers didn’t play well last weekend. They just weren’t quite on the ball (no pun intended). And here they go, coming up on a Monday Night Game against the defending Super Bowl champions. Oh, my.

I’m sure Coach LeFleur is preparing the team as he does best. The receiving corps will work on filling the hole left by Tucker Kraft’s injury (sob), and Jordan Love will be perfecting his pass precision.

The ordinary fans at my house ate the opponent with a classic: Philly cheese steak on a sub bun. Here’s a look at it:

Yum!

We stopped at the deli to pick up thin sliced beef and cheese. The white cheddar was out, so we chose provolone. It worked. Onions and green peppers we already had in our pantry, and the neighborhood sub shop sells their day old bread for next to nothing. Pile them all together (well, it’s not quite that simple, but almost) and Chuck presented the family with his version of a Philly cheese steak sandwich. And yes, it was delicious.

He served it with a side dish of roasted potatoes from the air fryer and my homemade applesauce with peach added. A great combination! We’re ready for Monday night. Are the Packers ready? We can only hope.

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Pittsburgh Steelers ahead!

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This game is a bigger deal than it appears. Aaron Rodgers, he who quarterbacked the Packers to Super Bowl XLV, is now a Steeler. This guy has a history; he has defeated very team in the NFL except Green Bay.

Green Bay, on the other hand, has defeated Pittsburgh a few times, most notably (and ironically?) in Super Bowl XLV. However, the Packers haven’t won in Pittsburgh since (gulp) Bart Starr was quarterback. Yikes.

So here at the O.K. Chorale, we’re taking our superstitious responsibility seriously this week. Eating the Opponent: Pittsburgh – bring it on!

Pierogies, of course. Not racing around the baseball diamond like the Famous Racing Sausages (hey, Pirates, we haven’t forgotten you), but pan fried and delicious.

Pan Fried Pierogies

With a little research, we found the Chip Chop Ham Sandwich. Thin sliced ham with barbecue sauce on a soft toasted bun. Delicious!

Simple and yummy.

Did you know that Pittsburgh claims to be the home of the Big Mac? We’re going to try it at home tonight. Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun! I have all but the buns in my kitchen right now.

To continue Eating the Opponent: Pittsburgh, I’ll pick up sesame seed buns, and my favorite Pittsburgh product: Klondike Bars.

If we have anything to do with it, the Steelers don’t stand a chance. Sorry (not sorry), Aaron.

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Enchiladas from Home

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Sorry, folks. No picture. We did, however, get back into the routine of Eating the Opponent this week. The Packers play the Arizona Cardinals, so I brought out my binder and let Chuck (chief cook at our house) take a look. He almost chose a chicken dish, and then decided to shift gears and go with enchiladas.

He seasoned the ground beef with my home-grown green onions and jalapeno peppers. My hot peppers are still growing, thanks to climate change. After wrapping up the enchiladas and placing them in the pan, he poured my homemade and home canned enchilada sauce over them. This enchilada sauce is yet another way to use tomatoes and stock the pantry shelves. The grated cheese, of course, included good Wisconsin varieties: mozzarella and cheddar.

No picture (I forgot, oops), but the enchiladas were delicious. Even though Chuck cooked them, I had a hand in the process with my home grown ingredients and made from scratch sauce.

Go! Pack! Go!

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Eating the Opponent: Dallas

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I looked through my binder for Eating the Opponent, and we had a few recipes that worked for the Dallas Cowboys. Cowboy beans, for example, the dish we call Calico Beans outside of the NFL season, is easy to cook. Amigo reminded us that Papa Murphy’s Take and Bake Pizza has a Cowboy Pizza, too. Then Chuck remembered that he had made Texas Chili in the crock pot, and it was delicious.

And then we went out to lunch for our Fun Day Friday and found this on the menu.

Cowboy Chicken Sandwich

We made cider that afternoon, so Texas Chili in the crock pot was the perfect solution. Go! Pack! Go!

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Eating the Opponent: Cleveland

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“Eating” the Cleveland Browns wasn’t easy. Cleveland, dear readers, has a lot in common with Milwaukee. My Internet searches found references to Lake Erie perch or cod. Would a Lake Michigan fish fry count? It’s Great Lakes fish. Pierogies and polska kielbasa were options, too. I found terrific pierogies at a Polish deli in Milwaukee when I was bunny-sitting for La Petite. I’m certain we have a polska kielbasa in ring bologna form in our freezer.

Then we found the Polish Boy sandwich. Polish sausage, with coleslaw and French fries piled on it, topped with barbecue sauce. Nope. This pile of foodstuffs, no matter how yummy, wasn’t going to cut it in our house.

We cut down the Polish Boy to a simple Polish sausage on a bun with pierogies on the side. We got our pierogies from the grocery store because we weren’t going to be in Milwaukee this week. Added a fresh peach from the farm stand, and that was supper.

We made an effort, Packers. Jordan Love and company will need to do the rest. Go! Pack! Go!

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Herb Garden in a Cooler

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We have a local chapter of the Buy Nothing Project, and I love it. I’ve given things away, and I’ve gotten some awesome items as well. Here’s one of my favorites. Someone posted the cooler, explained that they could no longer use it, and I shared the picture with Chuck. “Wouldn’t this make a great planter? Maybe herbs on the deck, right outside the kitchen door?”

Long story short, we expressed interest, the donor said yes, and we picked it up on our way home from Fun Day Friday lunch. The donor apologized for not cleaning it out, and when I explained how we planned to use it, she was relieved.

The fun piece of trivia: the donor is a tennis coach at the small college downtown, my alma mater.

Cooler turned Herb Garden

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Eating the Opponent is Back!

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September 11. Packers are playing the Washington Commanders. This brings back memories of the first Monday Night Football game after the September 11 attack which was – Washington at Green Bay.

But back to 2025. We’re eating the opponent with a crock full of Senate Bean Soup tonight. The recipe is simple, and you can look up variations online. I kept it fairly straightforward, with dried beans and a ham bone to start out.

It tastes as good as it looks. Go! Pack! Go!

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The Fairies are Back!

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Have you wondered what happened to the Fabled Fairies of Thanksgiving? They made an appearance several years ago, along with a Butterball turkey. Covid19 put a stop to family gatherings for a while, but now it’s time for the Fabled Fairies of Thanksgiving to come out of hiding and help us again!

 Thanksgiving Dinner? No problem! I’ll call in the fairies. They’ll do everything.

The laundry fairy washes, dries, and presses the table linens, including the cloth napkins. If she’s feeling generous, the sheets and towels might get folded, too.
The turkey fairy will practice her specialty and make sure the bird is cooked and carved just in time for dinner. White meat and dark, it’ll all be juicy and savory and leave just enough leftovers for sandwiches and a turkey noodle soup.
The baker fairy will take care of pies, pumpkin and otherwise. He’s an expert on flaky crust, selected spices, and the perfect portion of whipped cream. Don’t let that Simple Simon guy get in the way; the kitchen’s too small for anyone who begs to taste the wares.
The brownie — the cunning little house elf — will clean the home thoroughly, put the leaf in the big table, and get the extra chairs out of the basement.
I wouldn’t dream of neglecting the wine fairy: the sommelier so tiny she only recommends, never lifts, a bottle. Her taste is impeccable. Now if we could stop her before she over-imbibes and falls asleep on top of the piano…
Did I mention the decorator fairy? She’ll fix the fireplace mantel with something tasteful and seasonal before she makes sure the couch and rocker are properly arranged for the annual holiday gladiator contests known as NFL football.
The ambiance fairy keeps the wood fire crackling in the fireplace, the aromas wafting deliciously through the home, and the family discussions neutral and apolitical.
The kitchen fairies: really, there must be a whole crew of these talented sprites. One to do the shopping early and avoid the crowds, another to make sure the cranberries are perfect (and local, of course), and a magical maestro with the potato masher. Then we’ll need a feisty fairy, one with attitude — yes, you, Tinkerbell, you can make the coffees.

Mom, you can send the fairies over to my house now that we’re hosting the annual family Thanksgiving dinner. Let them know that I’ll have their room ready and their favorite cookies baked. If they arrive on Sunday there should be enough time to get everything done.

Wait. What do you mean…they’re…not….real?

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