Alaska on my mind

I came across the following recipe on Pinterest and it caught my eye for it's simplicity and warmth. Turns out, it's from a blogger in Alaska. Having been to Alaska just a few months ago it made me even more inclined to give it a try. I can just picture the author cooking up warm and delicious meals in such a rustic setting.

Maple Dijon Potatoes with Apples and Chicken Sausage

I pretty much stayed true to the recipe this time. While it may not be enough to stand by itself for a hungry family, it was a perfect small supper for us as we took a break from putting out the Christmas decorations. It goes wonderfully with a good glass of red.

It would also make a great breakfast dish, tossed around with some scrambled eggs. This dish may make a reappearance on Christmas morning, along with some homemade cinnamon rolls.

Mango Chicken

During the Summer of 2009 I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Europe with my husband. My boys still haven't forgiven me for leaving them for the trip, but I have to say that it was a highlight of the entire year. London, Scotland, and Ireland were the places we visited, and like a good girl, I cleaned many a plate in each locale. While in Ireland, we stayed with my good friend Judith's sister and her family, the Robinsons. Judith is an amazing chef herself, and has a cookbook coming out soon, so be sure to check her out. Good cooking runs in her family apparently because we had a nice little dish at the Robinson's house that Jayne, the sister, swears is easy as pie. I've made it a few times myself, and while it's still very yummy, easy and even passes the little picky eater's test, it's still not as good as Jayne's. I believe this is because Irish chutney must be different from our chutneys found here in the States. Maybe a trip to Whole Foods is in order for a better chutney, although Trader Joe's does have a nice one. Anyhow, here is the recipe for Mango Chicken...great for a quick and impressive weeknight meal.

Mango Chicken

What you need:
boneless skinless chicken breasts
Jar of good mango chutney
Heavy cream or plain yogurt or mixture of both both
cooked white or brown rice

Optional:
mushrooms
bacon

Take a good jar of mango chutney, mix together with heavy cream or plain yogurt (or a mixture of both) until you have a thick, but pourable consistency and pour into a baking dish.
Throw in a few raw chicken breasts and bake, uncovered at 350, until nice and caramelized. Serve over rice.
For a different twist, use a spicy chutney, toss in some mushrooms and wrap the chicken in bacon. Garnish with fresh mango slices. That will impress people!

Red Curry Chicken

Holy moly, that was a long hiatus from my little ole blog here.
Well, surprise...I'm back!

Let's see, last time I was on here I was talking about Guatemala. That seems like a lifetime ago. Basically, the past 2 1/2 months have been, well, shall we say sketchy? We put our house on the market, we sold it, and we moved. It was NOT fun. But, considering the market we're in, we're thankful that it even sold. We consider ourselves blessed in this and we consider ourselves blessed with our new place as well.

Life has not been normal for awhile but we're working our way back and are almost there. Even my workout routine, which I've followed religiously throughout the year, has fallen by the wayside, but with my permission. I knew the move would be stressful so I gave myself a free pass to just not do it until I'm completely ready to jump back in. Today I finally hit the gym for what I lovingly call an "icebreaker" workout. Easy, basic, and something to just break past the mental barrier of not having been active. Although, I'd argue I've been very active with moving and all.

So, we're doing our best to turn this house into our home, and for me part of that is getting back to cooking and eating as a family around the table. We've had our fill of fast food, eating out, and thrown together junk and I'm loving the nights that I'm taking a break from setting up house to cook for my family. I'll admit, there's only been a handful of real meals, but we've only been here two weeks. I'd say we're doing pretty good.

One thing I've made twice already is a recipe I posted awhile back as Curry Chicken. It was an adaptation from a CL recipe, but I've tweaked it even further and have decided it's more like Thai Red Curry with Chicken than just plain old curry chicken, so I've renamed it. Here's my more updated (and no so light) version. My picky little Wyatt loves it, which is why I've made it twice.
And tonight it turned out so good, I'd say it was restaurant quality!

Red Curry Chicken

2 TBSP grapeseed oil
2 boneless skinless breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
salt
2 cups green (or whatever color) bell pepper strips
half of a small yellow onion, cut into strips
small can bamboo shoots, drained
1/2 can baby corn, drained
2 TBSP fresh lime juice
2 TBSP reduced sodium soy sauce
2-3 TBSP red curry paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp brown sugar
one half of 1 (14-oz) can light coconut milk
one half of 1 (14-oz) can regular coconut milk
torn fresh basil

3 cups hot cooked jasmine rice

1. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pan fry in oil until lightly browned on all sides.
2. Add bell pepper, onion, bamboo shoots and baby corn to pan; saute 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken and vegetables from pan.
3. Combine juice, soy sauce, curry paste, garlic and sugar in small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add juice mixture to pan and let heat through for a minute.
4. Add 1/2 can of each coconut milk (light and regular) and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 12 minutes or until slightly thick.
5. Return chicken and vegetables to pan; cook 2 minutes or until heated through. Toss in some torn fresh basil. Serve over rice.

Everything but the kitchen sink pasta primavera

I wish I had a picture to post tonight, but we didn't waste any time before eating, it was that good. If I rated my recipes here, I'd definitely give this one 5 stars! Filling, healthy, colorful and delicious. All the things a good meal needs.

This recipe was born out of a necessity to use up some produce and chicken and because I needed something quick that I could throw together. Plus, I love making pasta. I've listed the veggies I used, but what I love about pasta primavera is that you use whatever you have on hand or like.

So, instead of laying this out in a recipe format, I'll just let you know what I did as I went along, because that's pretty much how I made this baby up.

What I used:
1 lb. penne (Barilla, yellow box; healthier version)
1 chicken breast
olive oil
2 slices thick cut bacon, diced up
white wine
butter
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

A handful of the following (don't need too much of any):
onion (sliced)
orange bell pepper (sliced)
carrots (sliced)
zucchini (sliced)
broccoli florets
sundried tomatoes
2 roma tomatoes (diced and seeds removed)
fresh torn basil

seasonings
parmesan cheese, grated
pana granada cheese (trader joe's)

Get the pasta cooking, according to package directions. I cooked the whole box, eventhough I didn't use all of the pasta in this dish.

I marinated my chicken breast for all of 10 minutes in some Greek salad dressing. Had to use it up. After that, I grilled it. While it was grilling, in the largest Le Cruset skillet I have (this baby's big!) I heated about a tbsp olive oil and fried the diced bacon until slightly crispy. I transferred the bacon to a paper towel lined plate, dumped the bacon grease, and used about 1/2 to 1 cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Let that simmer a bit to reduce, then add about 2 tbsp of butter. Once melted, I tossed in the onion, garlic and carrots. I let those cook for a couple of minutes, then added the bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes and basil. I also added a little more olive oil to keep things moist. While the veggies cooked, I added several different seasonings I had on hand ( Italian among others). About this time the chicken was done so I removed it from the grill, let it sit a few minutes, then sliced it up and tossed it together with the veggies. Add in the bacon at this point as well. Season with sea salt, pepper and anything else you feel like. Toss in the cooked penne, top with the cheeses and dive in! Goes great with a good glass of red.
And don't skip out on the bacon...I think it makes this dish!

Pie crust

I'm dreaming of the chicken pot pie from my last post. It was even better the next day as leftovers. This will definitely be put into rotation more.
I saw Rachel Ray making beef pot pie wedges where she rolled out two pie crusts (storebought), cut each in half making semi-circles, filled a little filling on each and folded over and pressed with a fork to make little pockets. She brushed and egg wash on top and baked until golden. I think this would be great with the chicken filling.

Per Sara's request, here's my pie crust recipe. Of course, store bought is easier, but I like to make mine because I've been using a blend of 1/2 whole wheat flour 1/2 regular flour to make it a little healthier. I like the flavor whole wheat adds as well.

Pie Crust:
In a small bowl, combine
1 1/3 C plain flour (I use the 1/2 and 1/2 blend)
1/2 tsp. salt

In a glass measuring cup, measure
1/3 C. vegetable oil
Add enough milk until it reaches the 1/2 C line
Mix well and add to the flour mixture, mixing well.
If mixture is too dry, add a little more oil or milk

Roll out for use in a pie. I usually roll mine out between two sheets of waxed paper.
Bake at 450 degrees until browned.

Chicken Pot Pie

Great. Snow...again. And it's the messy, wet kind of snow that gets brought in on little boy's shoes and the dog's paws. I'm not enjoying this latest bout from mother nature, but at least a day like today can be savored around the dinner table. Today's weather demands pie...chicken pot pie and blueberry pie for dessert.

Although I don't make chicken pot pie often, I enjoy making it for several reasons. One, it can be made ahead. I love meals that I can cook after lunch and assemble just before baking. Two, I love to chop up a bunch of stuff and saute it in a pot.That's why I love making soup and pasta sauces. I love the smell from onions and garlic sauteing in butter and white wine. I love to stand by the stove and stir and smell and taste. It's comforting, especially when it's cold and wet outside.

Today I adapted Pioneer Woman's recipe to my own liking. Not that her's wasn't good enough, I just needed to use what I had on hand and what I like. Here's what I came up with. It met the whole family's approval.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 yellow onion, diced
2 cups mixed vegetables (whatever you have on hand. I used carrots, peas, cut green beans, corn and 1 small potato). Can be fresh, frozen or canned. Make sure to dice up carrots, potatoes, green beans.
2 cloves pressed garlic
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
3 Tbsp butter (or olive oil)
3/4 c. all purpose flour
up to 2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp ground rosemary
kosher salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
1 pie crust (I make mine from scratch using a little whole wheat flour)

Preheat oven to 400

Heat the butter (or oil) on medium to low heat in a heavy dutch oven. Saute the onion for a few minutes, until clear. Toss in the other vegetables and garlic and continue sautéing for several minutes. You want the carrots and potatoes to be tender, but not mushy.

Add the chicken and stir to combine. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables and chicken and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring gently.

Pour in the chicken broth, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Make sure there's not too much liquid. You may not need to use all the broth. Stir in the wine. Pour in the cream and stir. If mixture is dry, add the rest of the broth. Allow mixture to cook over low heat, thickening gradually, about 4 minutes. If the mixture is watery, you may need to add a little more flour. Season with thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and taste, adjusting the seasonings if needed.

Pour into a deep dish pie pan or a small casserole dish. If making ahead, refrigerate until ready to use.

Roll out the crust so it's 1 inch larger than the pan. Place the crust on top and press the crust into the sides of the dish to seal. Cut small slits in the top to vent.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Pico De Gallo, Guacamole and Curry Chicken

This has been one of those weeks that I've wanted to get in the kitchen and get cracking. Having a husband gone for 4-5 days of the week and living off the boys leftover mac and cheese, pb&j crusts and cereal makes me want to be productive by the time Monday rolls around. Throw in a big trip to Trader Joe's and I'm all set for some therapeutic chopping, sautéing and simmering. Yes, cooking is therapeutic for me.


So I'll cut to the chase. I had an insane craving for homemade pico de gallo and guacamole. I love good guac but I can't tell you the last time I made it. It's been years...maybe even a decade. Seriously. That streak is over thanks to Pioneer Woman's recipes for both. Her pico is super easy. Use equal amounts of:
1. diced yellow or red onions (I like yellow)
2. diced roma tomatoes
3. chopped cilantro
Add in some diced jalapenos (I cheated and used a couple spoonfuls of jarred diced jalapenos)
Stir all together in a bowl, add the juice from half a lime and season with salt to taste. Test it with a chip before adding more salt, since the chips usually have salt.

Pico only keeps for a day or so, so only make the amount you'd use in that time.

For perfect guacamole, simply mash a ripe avocado with a fork (not too mushy!) and toss in a hefty pile of the pico. Stir together gently, test to make sure the taste is how you want it and sprinkle with a little paprika to make it look pretty. If needed, add a little more lime juice. Both the pico and the guac are AMAZING with Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Pita Chips. To me, they're way better than tortilla chips.


So that was lunch...pico de gallo and guacamole. Oh, and I forgot to mention a helping of Pioneer woman's Sherried Tomato Soup. This soup will knock your socks off, big time.

O.K, so moving on to dinner...

Thanks to Jen, I now have a subscription to Cooking Light again! The first recipe I wanted to try was Chicken Curry. I tweaked it a bit, and here's what I came up with. It was pretty good and didn't take long to throw together.

1 TBSP grapeseed oil
2 boneless skinless breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
salt
2 cups green and red bell pepper strips
half of a small yellow onion, but into strips
small can bamboo shoots, drained
1 garlic clove, minced
2 TBSP fresh lime juice
2 TBSP reduced sodium soy sauce
2-3 TBSP red curry paste
1 tsp brown sugar
1 (14-oz) can light coconut milk
torn fresh basil

3 cups hot cooked jasmine rice

1. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pan fry in oil until lightly browned on all sides. Add bell pepper, onion, bamboo shoots and garlic to pan; saute 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken and vegetables from pan. Combine juice, soy sauce, curry paste and sugar in small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add juice mixture and coconut milk to pan, bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 12 minutes or until slightly thick. Return chicken and vegetables to pan; cook 2 minutes or until heated through. Toss in some torn fresh basil. Serve over rice.

Italian Chicken

I've been losing my mojo in the kitchen these days. It's been awhile since I've made a really good dinner, in my opinion. David's always very gracious, but frankly, my dinners lately have been flops. It's pretty frustrating when I'm trying so hard to make family meals happen even if there is soccer practice at night. That will soon be over and I'm SO glad. We're just not up for being one of those families that have an activity every single day of the week. We all love our time at home, and it is, after all, the simple moments at home that stick in a child's mind.
Tonight was a rare Sunday evening that David was home. I'm been used to my Sunday evenings with just me and the boys, and admittedly, if he had been gone, I would not have gone to the trouble of really cooking. But he was home, so I did cook, and finally I made a decent meal. It's worth making again so I wanted to make sure I got it down. I have no name for this, although Italian Chicken might be a good one:

Italian Chicken

Needed: chicken breasts, mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs, an egg, Italian Seasonings, whole wheat flour (may use white all purpose), good quality marinara sauce, butter, salt, pepper, and toothpicks.

Method:
Preheat oven to 400

Take a few chicken breasts and pound them down until they are pretty thin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and sprinkle a good amount of shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Roll the breast up and secure with toothpicks. Dip the whole thing in whole wheat flour, then an egg mixture (egg w/ just a splash of water or milk) all mixed up, and finally , dredge the whole thing in breadcrumbs. I use my homemade ones that are healthier. I also mix in some Italian Seasonings and grated parmesan cheese into the breadcrumbs, but that's just me. Place the breasts seam side down into a baking dish, pour a mixture of melted butter and oregano over the top and bake at 400 until done (maybe 40 minutes, depending on the thickness). While it's baking, simmer a jar of marinara sauce on the stove. Once the chicken is done, remove from oven and slice so they resemble medallions. Pour just enough marinara sauce over the top to lightly cover, sprinkle with more mozzarella and pop back into the oven until the cheese is melted. Really good all on it's own and even better served over a top of pasta.

It really wasn't all that hard to prepare. While the oven was preheating I was able to get the chicken assembled from start to finish. I'll be glad to add this to the list of "definitely make again."

Slow cooking

I have a feeling that this is going to be my sanity this Fall.

Our week nights are being taken up with soccer and I'm not happy about it. True, it's my own doing signing up the kids for this, and honestly, I'm doing it for Wyatt. He's finally old enough and has been begging to play. In hindsight, I should have just signed him up, waiting to put Ethan in baseball in the spring. One kid, one sport a season. I think that will be our plan in the future. I'm so adamant about us having a decent family meal together at our kitchen table. It's so important. With soccer practice and makeup games happening right at the dinner hour (6pm) on the weeknights, we are either stuck grabbing a quick bite out after or eating an early dinner just before. I'm opting for the early dinner as much as possible. To make this happen I need my crock pot.

I have a feeling this website will be my new BFF. I saw it posted on Jen's blog awhile back, but after giving it a closer look, I'm really impressed. This girl is into healthy eating! I've shied away from many crock pot recipes because so many of them out there are full of fat, sodium and processed ingredients. She's really put some thought into her recipes and most of them are gluten free. I'm starting this week with her Pesto Chicken and Sweet Potatoes, Orange Chicken and Sweet Potato Chili (Vegan). I'm thinking the chili would be amazing with some sweet cornbread on top!

White Chicken Chili

I totally meant to post this recipe at Christmas, especially since this is what I made on Christmas Eve for the family. And here it is April and I'm posting a Christmas recipe! It's great for any time of the year, though. It's also a wonderful option for serving at larger gatherings. You can do a tex-mex thing with it and let people top the chili with various toppings (sour cream, salsa, pico, chips, shredded cheese, etc.) It went over great. I pretty much made it just as the recipe calls, although I decided to use dried white beans and soak them overnight in lieu of the canned. Make it the day before and you won't be disappointed!

White Chicken Chili

My Kitchen This Week

Monday....Sweet and Sour Chicken with brown rice...Wyatt's absolute favorite. It's the only time he asks for more chicken.

Tuesday night...Roasted Chicken with carrots, potatoes and onions. Also tried my hand at braised cabbage. It was pretty good!

Wednesday lunch...Quick Thai Corn Chowder. We're having kids over to play today, so maybe ordering a pizza and throwing together a salad is in order if they're all still here at dinnertime.

Thursday...eating out or eating leftovers.

Out of town this weekend! We're heading down to the Strawberry Festival in Tampa...I've heard they have the best strawberry shortcake ever! Good friends and good times ahead.

Tex Mex Bowls

It's time for me to make a confession. I've been terrible lately at making meals at home. Our schedule the past several weeks has had us away from home during the late afternoon hours and it's just so hard to arrive home after 6pm with a starving family and expect to whip up a decent meal in minutes. It's been so much easier to go to our favorite "kid's eat free on Tuesday nights" restaurant. Hey...if we have to eat out, at least we're not paying for the kids. Problem is...it's usually junk the kids end up eating (hot dogs, grilled cheese). Sure, it's nice to go somewhere else where they cook and clean up and we return to a perfectly clean kitchen. Still, it's more money unnecessarily spent on a not so decent meal. In my defense, there's been plenty of nights I have planned ahead and organized something very easy to make on these busy days, but my well meaning husband is very good at talking me out of going to the trouble of making dinner and our behinds end up in a restaurant booth. It's a guilt ridden process: I feel guilty for spending the money on poor quality food, guilty that my kids are eating it, guilty that I couldn't be more on the ball and have dinner ready myself, and guilty that I'm probably consuming way more calories than I would at home. Planning has got to be key, but I've also got to plan meals that can be cooked earlier in the day and warmed up just before serving. I'm becoming more friendly with my crock pot again. Staring in March, the boys will have some type of activity nearly every day that will have us out of the house in the later afternoon hours. I won't have the time to devote to making dinner at dinner time.

It's can be weird to think about preparing dinner in the AM hours, but that's what I think will save us. Take today, for instance. I'm taking one of our favorite meals...grilled chicken, black beans and rice and making most of it in the morning. I soaked the beans overnight; very easy to do. Threw them in the crock pot along with some onions, garlic, cumin, curry powder, salt, white wine, rice vinegar and chicken broth. I'll cook them on low for 6-8 hours and cross my fingers that they won't get overdone.
The rice (brown jasmine) was cooking while I made the boys lunches and the chicken is marinating in the fridge. Once we get home tonight after 6pm, I'll throw the chicken on the grill, heat the rice, and maybe even toss a salad together. The final plan will be to make Tex Mex Bowls...layer in a bowl: rice, shredded cheddar cheese, black beans, chopped chicken, shredded cheese, salsa and sour cream.
If all goes well, we'll be sitting down to dinner around 6:30. Not too bad.

Another great idea for these types of meals is bar-b-q chicken Kelle's way. It basically consists of throwing a few chicken breasts into the crock pot, pouring a bottle of gourmet bar-b-q sauce, perhaps a few chopped onions and garlic powder and let it do it's thing until dinner time. I love bar-b-q this way since I can control the type of meat (hormone and antibiotic free). Plus, the leftovers make great lunches.

I'm going to have to brainstorm to come up with more ideas like these. There's always the typical pot roast, but we don't each much red meat in our house. Maybe some good chicken recipes are due.

Marinara, veggie lasagna and soup

My life has to be all about planning these days. Planning meals, planning lessons, planning what errands I'll run on what day, planning when I'll work out, planning the boys' activities, planning when not to cook, etc. I like to try to spend some time on Sunday each week making my plans for the week. I need to plan on two decent cooked at home meals this week. Why just two? Well, thanks to the baptist church down the road, our boys attend AWANA on Wednesday night and we have a date night each week. Wednesdays are my night off from cooking and eating at home. Out of the other 4 nights (I'm counting weeknights here), I know we'll be heading out of town on Friday, so that leaves Mon., Tues., and Thurs. I'll plan on cooking two nights and having leftovers the other. Of course, good planning requires a big trip to the grocery, which I took care of this afternoon.

So..what to make. I've already gotten a head start on that one. As I type, my house smells amazing thanks to the big pot of homemade marinara I have simmering on the stove. There's enough in there for several meals, so I'll freeze most of it. Let me just say that I don't always make a homemade marinara. There are plenty of good ones out there at the store, so I usually start with a jarred variety and add to it. However, I got inspired this time and decided to make it from scratch. It's really quite simple and not too time consuming. Plus, it leaves you with so much that you can just freeze it in one or two cup batches and have plenty on hand for next time.

So...here is the Basic Marinara recipe from Cooking light.

On our menu for tomorrow night...Vegetable Lasagna inspired by Heather. Actually, that's probably not the most accurate title. It's not technically veggie, I do add meat to it, but there's sure a lot of veggies used. I'll utilize the veggies I have on hand and add some sweet Italian chicken sausage to the marinara. This lasagna is amazing and I'm convinced it's due in part to the addition of pumpkin. It adds such a subtle sweetness. I also love the fact that the veggies are all buzzed up in the food processor so the kids don't really notice them. It's a great way to slip some veggies into their mouths with them even knowing it.

For later in the week, I'm trying a soup I've never made before. Sweet Potato and White Bean Soup with Sage Walnut Pesto.
I just love making soup. I love the versatility of it. It can satisfy lunch or dinner, it will freeze well (usually), and I enjoy the process of making it. It may be a bit ambitious to serve this to the kids, but we'll give it a try. Of course, I'll have bread, fruit and salad to satisfy them if they turn their little noses up at the soup.

A meal revisited, with a couple of newbies

It was so good to finally get back in the kitchen and cook a decent meal after not really cooking for a couple of weeks. It's therapy for me.

I used my own blog tonight for inspiration. After scouring through some past entries, I remembered how good the black beans and brown rice and grilled chicken meal was. I'm telling you, the curry in the black beans is amazing. Don't be afraid of curry. At least not curry powder. It adds a slight sweetness to the beans. I planned ahead and soaked dry beans a couple of days ago, so no canned beans tonight. I used TJ's Island Soyaki Marinade for the chicken and made a huge batch of brown jasmine rice.
I got to put my new Christmas present to use for the first time; a slicer/shredder attachment for my Kitchen Aid (thank you David!). I shredded a block of raw milk cheddar cheese in about 20 seconds! Awesome! I used the cheese to top off the chicken, which topped off the black beans, which topped off the rice.

I also had some lovely sweet potatoes courtesy of the last CSA box that needed to be used and I found the best recipe online for Maple glazed roasted sweet potatoes.
These may have been the best sweet potatoes I've ever made. I don't know if it was the cooking method or if they were just really good potatoes, but they were so soft and buttery. They tasted just like those terrible sweet potato patties you buy at the grocery that are full of buttermilk, corn starch, and food dyes. This version only had two tablespoons of butter; that's way less than I normally use. I'm sad to say there's no leftovers of those babies.

I'll probably use the black beans and rice again for lunch tomorrow; maybe even scramble an egg into them for some protein.

I got a little inventive with dessert as well. While the boys, David included, made build you own ice cream sundaes, I took a healthier route. I made my own version of one of my favorite desserts found at Thai restaurants; Sticky Sweet Rice with Mangoes. It may sound weird, but trust me; it's amazing. I'm normally a chocolate or cake person, but I tried this dessert at a local Thai place and have gotten it ever since. I've never attempted to really make it myself. Everytime I've asked a server if it's difficult to make, they've all said yes. I figure I'll leave the real thing up to the experts.
My knock off version wasn't so bad, though. I took some of the brown rice from dinner, topped it with sliced mango, and poured a little TJ's organic sweetened condensed milk over the whole thing. Not bad at all. It satisfied my sweet tooth!

I love brown rice! I'm considering having it for breakfast tomorrow. Maybe I'll top it with maple syrup and pecans, just like I do oatmeal.

On a side note, a sweet friend gave me a cool cookbook she found at Anthropologie called Apples for Jam. It's got some great recipes in it and I'm getting really inspired to start cooking away.

Getting creative with CSA

Heather recently posted about all the great things we got in our CSA boxes, so I won't list it all here. But I did want to post of pic of it all for you. I love the idea of doing CSA boxes, plus, it's always a surprise to see what you get. You do have to get creative and plan some meals around your fresh produce so it doesn't go bad, but you're usually getting what is fresh and in season at the moment and that's just what your body needs. The chicken, honey, and cheese were not in the box...they were additional purchases from Farmer Chad. We have really blown through the cheese, though. I'll definitely be buying another block this week.

I used several of my items tonight for our dinner. We started with a simple salad using the lettuces from Farmer Chad, along with the purple sweet peppers. I also topped the salad with sliced apples, candied pecans, chevere cheese with honey (a new find at Trader Joe's), and a homemade maple syrup salad dressing from Rachael Ray. It was definitely a nice departure from my typical tossed salads and the flavors were perfect for this beautiful autumn season we're in.

For dinner, I soaked black beans over night to make black beans and rice inspired by Joy. She puts curry powder in hers, and I have to say, that just takes a typical black beans and rice meal to a whole new level. It's very subtle, but the curry gives it a little bit of a sweetness. I also sauteed some onion, garlic, purple bell peppers, oregano, and white wine vinegar and threw it all into the pot with the black beans and let them all simmer for about an hour. Talk about making the whole house smell divine. While that was simmering, I braised the greens from the CSA box the way Heather does (amazing...thanks for the idea!), and grilled some chicken breasts to top off the black beans and brown rice. Once on the plate, I topped the beans and rice with a little of the cheddar cheese.

It sure feels good to have a full belly of fresh and good for you food. I've been feeling a little under the weather the past couple of days and this was one of those afternoons that I was really leaning towards not cooking. But I'm so tired of eating out and eating junk that I forced myself to get my butt in the kitchen and get to work. It's amazing how cooking can be therapeutic at times. Not only did I pull it off, I'm already feeling better for having eaten well.

I've got a plan for the acorn squash that we got in the box. I'll post about that later.
Now...if I could just get myself to the gym I'd be feeling a whole lot better about life. Unfortunately, that part of my life has really taken a hit since homeschooling. I just have to make the time.

Can't wait to see what we get in out boxes this week!

Cheesy Chicken and Rice soup

My mother in law came over yesterday for lunch. This is what I made: cheesy chicken and rice soup.
Jen made this for me after I had Wyatt. It's a recipe from CL that I had overlooked at the time, but she zeroed in on it and I loved it. I had a craving for it over the weekend and got the ingredients so I could indulge.
My twist on it: I use precooked brown rice from TJ's instead of the wild rice it calls for. I also used a couple of glugs of white wine, red potatoes, doubled the amount of garlic, and added a little celery. I used half cheddar cheese and half processed cheese ( I just couldn't use the amount of processed cheese it calls for). The end result is sooooo good. It's similar to a baked potato soup. In fact, if you add a few slices of precooked bacon and chopped green onion, it would be a good version of baked potato soup. And who doesn't like baked potato soup? In fact, when I was pregnant with Ethan and couldn't stomach anything except fruit loops and cocoa puffs, I distinctly recall sending David out to Atlanta Bread Co, for a cup of this soup. And I guarantee that my version has lass fat and preservatives than theirs.

Warning...it makes a lot, so make it when you want to feed more than just yourself. I'm not too sure if it would freeze well since it is dairy, so I sent the mother-in-law home with some. And I had it for dinner and am eating it for lunch as I type. Enjoy.

I'm back...

I'm getting back into the swing of things here. We've had company with us since Wednesday and they just left this morning. Our sweet friends from Tampa spent their Spring Break with us and it was great having them. A lot of eating was done by all, though, so I'm trying to get back to a more "normal" routine. I did alright, though. I managed to run on the treadmill twice and walk my neighborhood once, so I kept with my 3 times a week workout. I just loaded up on sweets and white breads. We did have a nice dinner out a Zuma, where I actually consumed a good amount of sushi. We finished off the evening at Cafe Intermezzo where I had the best chocolate and coconut cake ever. Not surprisingly, the scale this morning was not nice. I've got to get back down to my comfort weight.
I've got a good start to the week...just finished an hour workout and a 20 minute sauna session. I'm hydrated and feeling good.

For dinner last night we had a little dinner party for our freinds and another couple. I tried a recipe from CL that I've had for a long time but never made and it was great! It's Chicken Supreme. You marinate it all night, so once you're ready to make it, it doesn't take long at all. Just bread it and throw it in the oven. The recipe calls for margarine, but since I think margarine is a four letter word, I used butter. I also used my own homemade bread crumbs that I use for everything (a mixture of equal parts whole wheat breadcrumbs, wheat germ, and ground almonds). I also threw in some Italian Seasonings in the crumbs. There you go...easy and good. Maybe next time I'll throw in some parmesan cheese to the crumbs as well. We also had roasted red potatoes with olive oil and seasonings, and a nice green salad with blue cheese and cranberries. A nice meal if I do say so myself.

I have to be proactive this week. Considering the amounts of sugar, sweets, candies, white bread, etc., I consumed over the weekend, and the fact that my birthday is this coming Friday and I have several outings planed that involve eating out, I have to take action! Cake is my weakness. I love it and have no control when there's good cake around. Since David will be out of town on my birthday, we're celebrating as a family tonight. We're going out to eat and the boys have gotten me a chocolate cake from the best cake place in town...Piece of Cake.
Not a "bakery" in the sense of artsy creations that don't taste good.
More of a homemade style cake that your grandmother would make. But man, oh man, the cakes are out of this world.

So far I have a good start to the week. It's Tuesday, and I've already been to the gym twice, worked out for an hour each time and did the sauna each day, so I feel good about all that.
And last night's dinner was really good. I wish I had pictures. Like I said, I totally ate junk over the weekend, so I wanted something really healthy and whole to eat for dinner. I made a huge salad with fresh artisan greens, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, celery, cucumbers, onions, green onions, artichokes and chickpeas. I'm in a big salad mood these days. I wanted to fill up on that and then just have a small portion of dinner. That's just what I did. I've been serving mine and David's dinners on smaller salad-sized plates to cut down on portion sizes.
What I made was the Parmesan Chicken and Rice Casserole from CL March 2008. The verdict...it's a keeper! I modified it of course. I used chicken breasts, instead of chicken thighs. Half and half instead of whipping cream, 1 cup broth instead of 2 (And I think I could have even decreased it a little from that), and I added 3 slices of cooked bacon to give it more flavor.


Don't let that picture fool you. I grabbed that from the website...not one of my own.
I'll be making this again for sure. It's also good enough to make for company.

A good start...chicken stock

Two nights ago, I was sitting on my deck while the boys ate dinner, enjoying a nice glass of red, watching the sunset, hearing the birds sing, and absolutely loving the warmth of the day. There was just a small taste of spring in the air. I started to remember what it looks like at my house in the summer. A small glimpse of the coming months.
It's a different scene this night. As I drank my coffee this morning, I watched the snow fall, and this evening, the fire I've made is crackling away in the fireplace, I'm enjoying another glass of red, Pride and Prejudice is on the TV, and the smell of my homemade chicken stock is filling the house.
Which brings me to my reason for posting.
With cold weather here yet again, I've been craving some warm food. Mainly, Chicken and Dumplings. Now, all my life, I've never really cared for the dish. I've always thought it to be congealed, and the dumplings mushy or slimy. It wasn't until I tried my friend Kim's recipe for chicken and dumplings that I found I really liked it. With this recipe, it's more like a thick chicken stew.
And to get a head start (I'm actually making them for lunch tomorrow), I wanted to make my chicken stock, since it's the base of the recipe.

Here's what I did...
Took a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken (whole), put it in a heavy dutch oven, covered with water, and set it to boil on the stove. As the water was heating up, I added two sliced carrots, sliced onion, celery, a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme and about 1 teaspoon of herbs de provence. I let this concoction simmer for at least 2 hours.

As I type, the stove is off, the chicken has been removed to a cutting board to cool and the broth is also cooling. What I'll do in a bit is strain the broth, so I'm just left with a simple clear liquid, pull the meat (the nice pieces anyway) from the bone and place back in the broth, cover and refrigerate until tomorrow morning.

There's a good start for several uses. A nice chicken broth. Even without the meat, you've got a great start for chicken noodle or chicken and vegetable soup, chicken tortilla soup, or whatever you need a good chicken broth for. And if you picked up a rotisserie chicken, or happen to make roasted chicken for dinner, just use the bones and whatever pieces you didn't eat to make your broth with.

On to the dumplings. Here's the basic recipe for what I'll make...
In a heavy pot, melt about 2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil) and sauté diced carrots, onions, garlic, and celery until soft and fragrant. Add about 1/3 cup of the chicken broth and 3 to 4 tablespoons of flour to make a thick paste. Slowly add more broth, a little at a time, until gone. You can also keep adding more flour to thicken a bit, if desired. Depending on how much you want to make, you may need to add more chicken broth (store bought) if you have some. Season with tarragon. Add the shredded chicken to broth. Slow cook for 1 to 2 hours. Bring to a boil, drop in 1 bag wide egg noodles (dumpling size) and cook for 10-12 minutes. Turn back to low. Add 1 can evaporated milk, or if you really want to go for it, use 1 1/2 cups half and half. Cook to a slow boil again and serve, or simmer until ready to serve.
You really can't mess this up, and you can add or take away ingredients depending on what you desire. As you can see, it turns out more like a thick chicken stew. I'm going to serve it with some garlic bread. My mother in law is coming over for lunch tomorrow, so I wanted to serve something really good.