February 2013

FEBRUARY 2013... How did we get here? 

With each passing day, time moves more quickly than the day before.  I was sooo fortunate to spend from July until December with both of my kiddos under the same roof again.  As I think back on that time, it was pure heaven.  Or, that's how I choose to remember it.  Regina is now back in Blacksburg, finishing up her degree.  We will get to see her graduate in May.  Devan is taking driver's ed right now, so I imagine soon he'll be driving Jon and I around town as he starts practicing what he's learned in class.   It really crazy that my kids are growing up, and Jon and I are just as young as ever :) (yes, I'm going to keep telling myself that).  

With the current move to Colorado, we encountered a major increase in cost of living.  I think the only thing that's not more expensive here is gas.  Which has helped, but it's still crazy that I now spend 200$ a week on groceries.  In NC, I was able to squeak out on 100$.  So in attempt to not eat out as much, and really try to cut down on our expenses, I have been making a monthly menu.  I started in January, and it worked out pretty well.  I would say that it 1) helped me put together a grocery list for the week more quickly and 2) we did eat at home more frequently.  We certainly aren't perfect and there were a few occasions where we broke away from the calendar.  I should do a better job this month tracking that more closely, maybe even analyse it to see what's causing the lack of cooking.  Jon even made dinner a time or two last month.  

For February, I had high hopes of posting a monthly calendar on my blog.  But, much to my  disappointment I couldn't quite figure it out.  I spent over 30 minutes working on it and seriously... I have so many other things to do today, a list will have to work.  I thought it might be fun to start out with just a weeks worth of  ideas, and add to it next weekend.  I've also started running again, and can barely walk today :).  I'd like to mix things up a bit though... If I have to run 3x a week, blah.  I really don't enjoy it that much.  I'm going to attend a Nia dance class tomorrow at 10, maybe Wed. I'll go back to swim with the old ladies (some of whom were not that nice), and then do my run on Friday.  Another goal that I've had, is to eat food from home for breakfast and lunch.  This week I was 5/5 for breakfast and 4/5 for lunch.  So overall I had a 90% accuracy rate.  As an SLP, I'd call that a success LOL. 

Happy first week of February! Looks like little Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, so they are predicting an early spring.  We shall see how that plays out in Colorado.  Happy Spring thoughts everyone! 

Sunday Feb 3 --- SuperBowl Sunday, we will have buffalo chicken strips with some other snacks

Monday Feb 4 ---Jambalaya, if I decide to add a can of rotel tomatoes again, Devan will complain

Tuesday Feb 5-- Blackened Chicken w/ avocado cream sauce 

Wednesday Feb 6-- My Dad's birthday!  Sloppy Joes on Whole wheat buns with a salad

Thursday Feb 7-- copycat Outback Steak House Alice Spring(s) Chicken, with or without the /s/ I have no idea. 

Friday Feb 8-- Pizza 

Saturday Feb 9th -- I try my hand at a type of fried shrimp that is made in the oven.  I'm attempting to alter two recipes to make this work, wish me luck! 

 Chicken Teriyaki 
          Wings

It's been so long since I've updated my blog.  I thought while I'm not working, it might be a good idea to start updates again.  Our family has relocated to Colorado.  We are currently staying in an apartment and anxiously waiting for our closing date on our new home.  The other day I made some chicken wings, with a new type of sauce (teriyaki).  We always do buffalo and we usually do chicken tenders, to keep it a bit healthier.  But the 14 year old wanted traditional wings, and since I did move him completely across the country, I figured why not.  We bought organic chicken wings and teriyaki sauce at Sprouts, a new grocery store here in Boulder, CO.  I figured we'd try new places out.  Well this place was rather expensive and it was just like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.  I wanted the wings to be "falling off the bone", and so I cooked them at 250 degrees for almost 2 hours.  I basted the wings with sauce every 30 minutes when I turned them over.  In the end, the chicken was some of the best chicken I've eaten in a while, but it wasn't falling off the bone.  The sauce was a hit with the boys (the hubs, and Kid B).  Overall, I'd say it was a success, but I look forward to the day when I have a smoker and I can smoke the wings all day long, and then they will certainly fall off the bone!

Hot Artichoke Dip

So I think I have more than 100 recipes ... OK maybe not that many, but sooo many that I have laying around.  Perhaps I should 1) try to digitize them... and 2) Try them. So this is from the Pampered Chef, I'll be having it for lunch tomorrow perhaps with some whole wheat pita triangles?  I'm sure it's not the healthiest recipe, but none the less, it's a recipe.

Hot Artichoke Dip 
2 jars (6oz each) marinated artichoke hearts (chopped)
1 Pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 cup of sour cream ( I'll do fat free)
1/2 cup of mayonnaise (I'll use what I have in the house)
3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Drain and coarsely chop artichoke hearts with Food Chopper.  Mix Artichoke hearts with remaining ingredients in Classic 2 quart Batter Bowl.  Spoon into Mini-baker (or whatever dish you have).  Bake 20-25 minutes or until heated through.  Spread on cocktail bread slices, or fresh vegetables using the All-Purpose Spreader.

Sounds good doesn't it.  Is it mildly problematic that I own every piece of pampered chef paraphernalia except the mini-baker??? I think it's slight indicator that someone use to have an addiction.

Happy Cooking !

CUPCAKES (yellow cake with penuche frosting)

Tonight I had a sweet tooth, and while I was quite busy babysitting the 9 week old puppy, and paying bills, I really wanted to squeeze in time to make something yummy.  My mom had told me about this frosting called Penuche Frosting.  But, to use frosting, you've got to have some sort of base.  I googled it, and found applesauce cake, spice cake, and a few other odd selections.  But I did stumble upon a recipe for a yellow cake, that I thought I'd try.  I'm NOT a huge fan of homemade cake.  To me it always is dry, not as tasty, and if Betty Crocker has it figured out, why reinvent the wheel, right?  But, with no Crocker on hand, I dug down deep to my colonial roots, and made one from SCRATCH!  The recipe was quite basic, and I had everything on hand.  I cut the recipe in 1/2, and made them into cupcakes.

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup evaporated milk (you will need a 12 oz. can if you make the frosting below)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar with mixer.   Add eggs, milk and vanilla and continue mixing. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt.  Pour into two 9 inch greased or sprayed cake pans or one 9 x 13 pan.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 20 – 25 minutes for round pans and 30 to 35 minutes for 9 x 13 pan.

Once the cupcakes were ready, I made the frosting!! This recipe came from my mom, and it was amazing, and very easy.  

1 c. packed light brown sugar

8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter

1/4 c. whole milk

2 c. confestioners' sugar, sifted

 

Place brown sugar and butter in medium size heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Simmer, stirring constantly, until well combined, 2 minutes.  Carefully pour in milk, stirring and bring mixture to boil.  Remove pan from heat and cool slightly.

 

Place confectioners' sugar in large mixing bowl.  Pour hot brown sugar mixture over the confectioners' sugar.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the frosting is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.

 

Use immediately (while still warm) to frost cake of your choice or the frosting will harden.  If it does harden while you are frosting the cake, simply place the pan back over low heat and stir until frosting softens up. 

So, the verdict is in, I made 2 mistakes with attempting to make cupcakes tonight.  1) I didn't use my good friend Betty's  mix for the cake.  The homemade cake was a bit dry, and more of a "cornbread" texture, but not to that extreme... But, it wasn't "cake" consistency.  2) I didn't sift the powdered sugar when making the frosting, hence I have a few little powdered sugar lumps in my yummy frosting.  It didn't affect the taste, but it did affect the appearance.  Kid B hasn't tried them yet, nor has the hubs, so it'll be interesting to get their take on the recipe.  Personally, I loved the frosting!! (The picture is altered so it's not a true color, but the frosting is a light brown) 

Happy Cooking, and I'll try not to be such a stranger to the blog!! 

Mexican anyone?

Tonight, I don't have a picture, but just the yummy reminder of dinner lingering on the tip of my tongue.  I had bought a rotisserie chicken a while back, and needed to eat it or freeze it.  I ended up taking the meat off the bone, and throwing the skin away, and freezing a little container of chicken.  I figured I could use it later for something.  Low and behold I stumbled upon a recipe for
Crispy Chicken Taquitos
But when the time came to make them, I couldn't find the dumb recipe.
Today's dinner was a challenge, but in the end I think I may have found a new dish to add to the regular rotation.  I started out with defrosting the chicken.  Guess What?  Of course, when I was ready to cook, it was still frozen.  But it was easy enough to pry out of the container and into the pan where I sauteed the meat with about 1/2 a packet of taco mix and about 1/3 cup of water.  I just estimated these amounts.  Once the meat started to look "shredded" I was ready to start rolling the Taquitos.  I've never been one to "roll" things, so needless to say, I was lacking skills in this department.  My corn tortillas continued to rip and break... Oh I was getting shall we say, FRUSTRATED!  But I pulled it all together before losing it completely and went to the internet.  I knew somewhere there had to be advice on how to do this without destroying the tortilla.  And, yep, it was easy advice.  I headed up a cast iron skillet and sprayed it well with Pam, then I cooked each tortilla individually.  I was careful with flipping and didn't want to overcook them.  Once the were more pliable, I was able to fill them with chicken and cheese.  I rolled them up, put them on the pan seam side down.  Meanwhile, my oven was preheating to 400 degrees.  Once I made 7 of these little guys, I slid them into the oven.  I didn't time them, but I watched them closely for the crisping effect.  The edges of the tortilla get a nice crispy brown when they are done.  And, everyone in the family ate them.  Devan wasn't thrilled, but is he ever?  I served them with a side of salsa, but would have preferred guacamole and sour cream too!
Happy Eating!! ( and um no editing done tonight either, sorry!)

Two for one

Well, while Kid B was away for the weekend, we certainly broke all the rules and ate out more times than I care to share with you.  Jon and I were complete opposites 15 years ago, but now we've become each others partner in crime.  If he wants to shop and spend money, so do I.  If I want to eat out, so does he!  LOL... It actually has made for a wonderful marriage, but not so great for our budget.

But on Sunday, I was determined to get back on the cooking wagon.  I had a great birthday celebration to attend, but assumed I'd be back early enough to cook some ribs.  I had watched Dr. Oz, earlier in the week and saw a recipe I was hoping to try.  I actually had picked up some ribs at the store a week or two ago when they were on sale, and they were in the freezer, so it worked out quite nicely.  I took them out to defrost them, and started cooking at about 6:00, and had the ribs on the grill by 6:15.  They had to cook an hour and 1/2... so um, dinner was served at 7:45 LOL.  Oh well, sometimes things like that happen.   These are Chef Rocco DiSpirito's BBQ Ribs 

As the ribs came off the grill

Ingredients
1 rack baby back ribs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, sliced
12 garlic cloves
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp liquid smoke
3/4 cup reduced-sugar ketchup

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

Directions
Take 1 rack of baby back ribs and trim all visible fat.  Then, season with salt and pepper and place on a 2-foot long piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet.  

In a separate bowl, combine the paprika, liquid smoke, ketchup and red wine vinegar.

Pour sauce over ribs and turn to coat completely. Scatter onions and garlic over the top. Place the foil over the ribs so it’s tightly sealed. Place on the grill for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Or, to enjoy all year round, place in the oven at 425°F for 1/2 hour and then lower to 275°F for another hour, until meat is tender.  

Well when they were done, the verdict was in.  They weren't seasoned well enough, personal careless error on my part.  But they weren't very BBQish, more saucy.  I can't imagine that BBQ sauce is that bad for you, but I'm going to just have to walk an extra couple of miles to make up for it, because using real BBQ sauce is so much better.  What I did like is that they were cooked in foil for a long long time, and were practically falling off the bone.  That's a good thing with our 13 year old and his braces.  So, I would say it's a keeper but altered with just BBQ sauce, more seasoning on the meat prior to cooking, and then sticking with the same cooking method.  

Tonight I had to make a quick dinner.  I knew that I was going to my very first dance class, and wanted to be able to feed D'ster quickly.  So, I chose an old standby that I learned from Slidell High's Food and Nutrition class I took back in the day, Biscuit Pizzas.  So not healthy, but at this point, who cares!  :-) 

These are the easiest things to make.  You need a can of biscuits, pizza sauce, any toppings of your choice, and mozzarella cheese.  Smash the biscuit, put on the sauce, toppings, and cheese, and back in the oven following the biscuit directions.  So easy, a kid could make them... If that's so, why do I slave over the pan when D could make them?? Oh well, I asked Kid B if he wanted a side of green beans and he did, so I went with our good ole standby.  And that my friends was dinner!  

See you on the flip side for yet another dinner selection tomorrow.  PS I'm not editing this so, please forgive the errors.  I'm way too tired. 

Interesting for sure

While at my favorite little meat shop yesterday, I purchased some "Asian marinated pork".

not very appealing huh? 

It was pink, very pink just like the meat you get at your local chinese restaurant.  In my mind I was thinking... I can make that same stuff at home?  And of course, purchased a pound of it.  Tonight for dinner, I sliced an onion, a green bell pepper, and the meat.  I then sauteed all of these things together in a little olive oil.  As recommended by the butcher lady at the meat shop.







On the side I made some fried rice with a recipe from Allrecipes.com.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fried-Rice-I/Detail.aspx

I used brown rice to make it, and it was pretty good.  Overall dinner didn't look appealing at all, and we were all mildly skeptical to eat it.  However, once we tasted it, everyone agreed that it was good. So, you might ask your self, is that a successful dinner?  I'm still on the fence.  I think that had I broiled the meat on skewers in the oven I might have enjoyed the meat a little better.  Had I used white rice, I would have enjoyed the fried rice more too.  But in the scheme of things, everyone ate it, and Jon even had seconds.  Some nights are just not proud chef moments, and I'd say tonight would certainly fit into that category.  Hoping for a less interesting dinner tomorrow, that looks a bit more appealing.  You know, curb side appeal is everything!  LOL.