This recipe caught my eye as soon as I started looking through Real Simple: Easy, Delicious Meals (which I got cheeeeeap with a rare 50% coupon from Borders!). It's not too hard, even though I am not super-experienced at making soups (or at, um, putting them in blenders and not having the soup almost explode everywhere). I couldn't use a nonstick Dutch oven, which I would have preferred, but other than that it went pretty smoothly. And it was delicious. I'd definitely recommend it!
I'm including the other recipes I made to go with the soup, or rather, that the soup was made to go with. The chicken enchilada recipe is one my dear friend Rachel gave me years ago, and the chocolate silk pie is from my sweet friend Erin, and was given to me as part of her bridal shower gift to me.
I discovered that I had only two tortillas to work with, rather than the required eight, so instead of rolling the enchiladas up, I added the chicken and onions to the sauce on the stove, spread all the (now very chunky) sauce in a 9 x 13 pan, put the two tortillas on top, and covered the whole thing with sharp cheddar cheese. I baked it for the recommended amount of time, and then added a couple minutes of broiling on low to sort of give the cheese a nice crust. What this ended up doing was to fuse the cheese and the tortillas together, which was kind of cool, I thought, though completely unintentional. So if you run out of tortillas, you can do it that way, or you can do it the way I've done it every other time I've made this recipe and just roll them up like always. :)
One thing to note on the pie: the chilling time of 5 - 24 hours. I definitely mis-read that as a 2, not a 5, and had grand plans of the pie being ready just as dinner was over. Not so much. But it was ready at around 9:00, which is when everyone wanted to eat dessert anyway. And it was delicious. Thanks, Erin and Rachel, for providing me with these wonderful recipes!
Smoky Corn Chowder, from Real Simple: Easy, Delicious Meals
Serves 6 (I guess depending on how generous your servings are, this could be true, but I found it served 4 quite adequately. I think 6 would have been a stretch.)
8 ounces sliced bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I broke the bacon up after it was cooked - cutting raw bacon is just too messy and ineffectual)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 10-ounce packages frozen corn (I couldn't for the life of me find 10-ounce packages, so I bought two 16-ounce packages and used just half a cup from the second package)
3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup half-and-half
Kosher salt and black pepper (I used table salt - I'm sure Kosher would be better but as I am not totally familiar with the differences I'm gonna say don't worry about it)
4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1. Cook the bacon in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
2. Spoon off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings and return the pan to medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, and red pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the corn, broth, and half-and-half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the pot and stir in 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
4. Divide the soup among bowls and top with the scallions and bacon.
Chicken Enchiladas, from Rachel Bechtel
Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chopped green chilis (chilies? how do you pluralize this word??)
1 cup sour cream
Other ingredients:
1 package cooked chicken (I used Trader Joe's cooked cubed chicken breast - I think it was 1 pound - and it was just right)
8 soft tortillas, burrito size (see above)
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cups shredded cheese of your choice (I used sharp cheddar)
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine sauce ingredients in saucepan over medium heat until hot and bubbling.
3. In each tortilla, put a small amount of chicken, sauce, cheese, and onion. Roll up tortillas and place in 9 x 13 dish, seam side down.
4. Top with leftover sauce and cheese.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and edges of tortillas look cooked.
Enjoy!
French Silk Pie, from Erin Nesbit
1 ready-made crust - Oreo is best
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup refrigerated egg product (next to eggs in grocery store)
whipped cream and/or chocolate curls, for garnish (optional)
1. In large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 4 minutes or until fluffy.
2. Stir in melted and cooled chocolate chips and vanilla.
3. Gradually add egg product, beating on high speed and scraping sides of bowl constantly until light and fluffy.
4. Transfer filling to crust. Cover and chill for 5 to 24 hours.
5. Garnish with whipped cream and/or chocolate curls.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Heaven Desired
Just read this from The Valley of Vision this morning, and it's just...wonderful.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Heaven Desired
O my Lord,
May I arrive where means of grace cease
and I need no more to fast, pray, weep, watch,
be tempted, attend preaching and sacrament;
where nothing defiles,
where is no grief, sorrow, sin, death, separation, tears,
pale face, languid body, aching joints, feeble infancy,
decrepit age, peccant humours, pining sickness,
griping fears, consuming cares;
where is personal completeness;
where the more perfect the sight the more beautiful the object,
the more perfect the appetite the sweeter the food,
the more musical the ear the more pleasant the melody,
the more complete the soul the more happy in its joys,
where knowledge is full of thee.
Here I am an ant, and as I view a nest of ants
so dost thou view me and my fellow-creatures;
But as an ant knows not me, my nature, my thoughts,
so here I cannot know thee clearly,
But there I shall be near thee,
dwell with thy family,
stand in thy presence chamber,
be an heir of thy kingdom,
as the spouse of Christ,
as a member of his body,
one with him who is one with thee,
and exercise all my powers of body and soul
in the enjoyment of thee.
As praise in the mouth of thy saints is comely,
so teach me to exercise this divine gift,
when I pray, read, hear, see, do,
in the presence of people and of my enemies,
as I hope to praise thee eternally hereafter.
O my Lord,
May I arrive where means of grace cease
and I need no more to fast, pray, weep, watch,
be tempted, attend preaching and sacrament;
where nothing defiles,
where is no grief, sorrow, sin, death, separation, tears,
pale face, languid body, aching joints, feeble infancy,
decrepit age, peccant humours, pining sickness,
griping fears, consuming cares;
where is personal completeness;
where the more perfect the sight the more beautiful the object,
the more perfect the appetite the sweeter the food,
the more musical the ear the more pleasant the melody,
the more complete the soul the more happy in its joys,
where knowledge is full of thee.
Here I am an ant, and as I view a nest of ants
so dost thou view me and my fellow-creatures;
But as an ant knows not me, my nature, my thoughts,
so here I cannot know thee clearly,
But there I shall be near thee,
dwell with thy family,
stand in thy presence chamber,
be an heir of thy kingdom,
as the spouse of Christ,
as a member of his body,
one with him who is one with thee,
and exercise all my powers of body and soul
in the enjoyment of thee.
As praise in the mouth of thy saints is comely,
so teach me to exercise this divine gift,
when I pray, read, hear, see, do,
in the presence of people and of my enemies,
as I hope to praise thee eternally hereafter.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Pork Chops with Pears and Gorgonzola
Here is another wonderful recipe from the Cooks Illustrated booklet of tear-out recipes I bought last winter (I think it was called 30 Minute Suppers Winter 2010...I've been looking for this year's version but haven't found it, and I'm not sure if it's a regular thing - hope so!). Their recipes have tons of helpful hints like amounts of time to brown meat and things like that - I've learned a ton just from following the recipes exactly.
I've made this three or four times and will probably continue to make it often. It's easy and really, really good! (Text copied directly from the tear-out card, except where I've made comments in italics.)
Sauteed Pork Chops with Pears and Gorgonzola
Serves 4
4 bone-in rib or center-cut pork chops, about 1 inch thick (I only use center-cut - the bone-in ones don't give you as much meat, though they do look pretty. I also would probably get 6 pork chops for four people. I like leftovers and opportunities for seconds, and the sauce is plenty for 6.)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 firm pear, cored and cut into 3/4-inch wedges (see note below) (I use 2 pears if I'm serving 4 people, 1 pear if I'm serving 2.)
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth (If you only have regular chicken broth, it works fine - just maybe use a tiny bit less salt at the end.)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (see note below)
1. Pat chops dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chops until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to platter and tent with foil.
2. Toss pear with sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in bowl. Add pear slices, cut-side down, to empty pan and cook until golden and beginning to soften, 1 to 2 minutes per side. (My pear slices usually aren't big enough to keep them on one particular 'side' or another, so just go with 3-4 minutes total and the "golden and beginning to soften" indicator.) Add broth and simmer until pears are softened, about 2 minutes. Transfer to platter with pork.
3. Continue to cook until sauce is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in butter and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over pears and chops. Top with cheese. Serve.
Test Kitchen Note: Bosc pears, a firm, russet-colored variety, work great in this recipe. For the boldest flavor, use an assertive blue cheese such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort.
(This is me again.) I've served this with mashed potatoes a couple of times, and once with rice and a fruit salad. It isn't as heavy as you'd think, so it isn't overwhelming with a starchy side dish - the pears keep it lighter.
Let me know if y'all try it!
Edited to add: I took a few iPhone pictures...they're not great photography or anything but I always find it helpful to be able to see what the final product looks like when I'm cooking! Even though the "after" picture has the pork chops pretty much smothered in pears. Oh well.
Pre-cooking
Finished product
I've made this three or four times and will probably continue to make it often. It's easy and really, really good! (Text copied directly from the tear-out card, except where I've made comments in italics.)
Sauteed Pork Chops with Pears and Gorgonzola
Serves 4
4 bone-in rib or center-cut pork chops, about 1 inch thick (I only use center-cut - the bone-in ones don't give you as much meat, though they do look pretty. I also would probably get 6 pork chops for four people. I like leftovers and opportunities for seconds, and the sauce is plenty for 6.)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 firm pear, cored and cut into 3/4-inch wedges (see note below) (I use 2 pears if I'm serving 4 people, 1 pear if I'm serving 2.)
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth (If you only have regular chicken broth, it works fine - just maybe use a tiny bit less salt at the end.)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (see note below)
1. Pat chops dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chops until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to platter and tent with foil.
2. Toss pear with sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in bowl. Add pear slices, cut-side down, to empty pan and cook until golden and beginning to soften, 1 to 2 minutes per side. (My pear slices usually aren't big enough to keep them on one particular 'side' or another, so just go with 3-4 minutes total and the "golden and beginning to soften" indicator.) Add broth and simmer until pears are softened, about 2 minutes. Transfer to platter with pork.
3. Continue to cook until sauce is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in butter and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over pears and chops. Top with cheese. Serve.
Test Kitchen Note: Bosc pears, a firm, russet-colored variety, work great in this recipe. For the boldest flavor, use an assertive blue cheese such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort.
(This is me again.) I've served this with mashed potatoes a couple of times, and once with rice and a fruit salad. It isn't as heavy as you'd think, so it isn't overwhelming with a starchy side dish - the pears keep it lighter.
Let me know if y'all try it!
Edited to add: I took a few iPhone pictures...they're not great photography or anything but I always find it helpful to be able to see what the final product looks like when I'm cooking! Even though the "after" picture has the pork chops pretty much smothered in pears. Oh well.
Pre-cooking
Finished product
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Snow Days and Narnia
In case you hadn't heard, the East Coast has had quite a bit of snow lately. I had two days off work (Brandon had three), and in that time I've been reading a lot of Narnia: finishing up The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, reading The Silver Chair (I think I read the whole thing yesterday), and starting The Horse and His Boy. Oh, they're such great stories. I'm currently watching the BBC version of Prince Caspian/The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which, though extremely dated and filled with bad effects (or no effects at all), holds a special place in my heart. I like to sort of mix the new Disney-fied Narnia movies with the BBC ones in my head and combine them into one perfect movie. I realize that doesn't work for everyone, and lots of people have strong negative feelings about one set of movies or the other, but oh well.
During our snowbound days, I made several different variations of pancakes (a rough segue I know, but Narnia makes me want to cook from scratch and eat rustic food, so there you go): these Yoghurt Pikelets, which are my personal favorite (especially rolled up with vanilla yogurt inside), some Bisquick blueberry pancakes, and the Pioneer Woman's sour cream pancakes (from her cookbook). (Except I didn't have a full cup of sour cream, so I used half a cup and supplemented with vanilla yogurt, omitting the vanilla extract later in the recipe.) Oh, and I added blueberries to those too. I was very excited to discover that I had a pint of blueberries still fresh in the fridge!
Y'all, those sour cream pancakes were awesome. A little fluffier than I usually like (I love thin, stackable pancakes), but the flavor was amazing. And then when I added vanilla yogurt, the rest of the fresh blueberries, and a bit of honey, and made them into 'tacos' for dinner (yeah, it was a carby day, though we did have eggs and bacon at brunch), well, wow. It was a good day, food-wise.
Tomorrow I'm going to be starting a job where I cook fairly often, and I'm super excited about it. I'll try to take pictures of what I make, and post recipes of the more successful dishes. It'll be a challenge to make not just a main dish but often a side dish and a dessert three or four days a week, but it's something I've wanted the chance to do for a long time. Hopefully it'll give me more reasons to blog!
One last Narnia-related comment: the theme music for the BBC version is one of the most evocative pieces of music I've ever heard. It brings back my childhood like nothing else: memories of spending hours putting together my map-of-Narnia puzzle (the same map that we now have framed over our fireplace, though not in puzzle form), staging mock battle-planning sessions from Prince Caspian with my dad, and constantly dreaming that I could somehow make it into Narnia myself. I love Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings, but nothing will ever be as special to me as the world of Narnia. I sometimes forget that until I venture back in.
During our snowbound days, I made several different variations of pancakes (a rough segue I know, but Narnia makes me want to cook from scratch and eat rustic food, so there you go): these Yoghurt Pikelets, which are my personal favorite (especially rolled up with vanilla yogurt inside), some Bisquick blueberry pancakes, and the Pioneer Woman's sour cream pancakes (from her cookbook). (Except I didn't have a full cup of sour cream, so I used half a cup and supplemented with vanilla yogurt, omitting the vanilla extract later in the recipe.) Oh, and I added blueberries to those too. I was very excited to discover that I had a pint of blueberries still fresh in the fridge!
Y'all, those sour cream pancakes were awesome. A little fluffier than I usually like (I love thin, stackable pancakes), but the flavor was amazing. And then when I added vanilla yogurt, the rest of the fresh blueberries, and a bit of honey, and made them into 'tacos' for dinner (yeah, it was a carby day, though we did have eggs and bacon at brunch), well, wow. It was a good day, food-wise.
Tomorrow I'm going to be starting a job where I cook fairly often, and I'm super excited about it. I'll try to take pictures of what I make, and post recipes of the more successful dishes. It'll be a challenge to make not just a main dish but often a side dish and a dessert three or four days a week, but it's something I've wanted the chance to do for a long time. Hopefully it'll give me more reasons to blog!
One last Narnia-related comment: the theme music for the BBC version is one of the most evocative pieces of music I've ever heard. It brings back my childhood like nothing else: memories of spending hours putting together my map-of-Narnia puzzle (the same map that we now have framed over our fireplace, though not in puzzle form), staging mock battle-planning sessions from Prince Caspian with my dad, and constantly dreaming that I could somehow make it into Narnia myself. I love Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings, but nothing will ever be as special to me as the world of Narnia. I sometimes forget that until I venture back in.
Friday, October 1, 2010
"Did you slaughter an entire pig?"
As promised, here is the recipe for Maple-Glazed Pork Chops with Sweet Potato-Bacon Hash that I made last night. And yes, it is all cooked in bacon grease, hence my friend Lauren's comment in the title of the post. Completely terrible for you, but oh so delicious.
Maple-Glazed Pork Chops with Sweet Potato-Bacon Hash
from America's Test Kitchen 30-Minute Suppers (this was something I bought last December - it wasn't really a magazine, just a set of 96 full-color tear-out cards with a bunch of winter recipes)
Serves 4
1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 large), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
6 slices bacon, chopped fine
4 bone-in rib pork chops, about 1 inch thick (see notes below)
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1. Place potatoes in large bowl and microwave, covered, until tender, 4 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to power towel-lined plate. Pour off bacon fat, reserving 2 tablespoons.
2. Pat chops dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat in skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown chops, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.
3. Add remaining reserved bacon fat and potatoes to empty pan and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in thyme and crisp bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl.
4. Add maple syrup, mustard, and vinegar to pan and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add chops, and any accumulated juices and simmer, turning often, until glaze coats chops, about 2 minutes. Serve.
Test Kitchen Note: To keep chops from curling, slit the fat and connective tissue on the sides of each chop at 2 inch intervals.
My notes:
- I had 5 small thin-cut pork chops (they were on sale), and it wasn't quite enough meat - that is, I had plenty more glaze, and Brandon commented that with how thin the chops were and the sweetness of the sauce, a thicker chop would've worked better (I agreed). But if thin-cut chops are all you have, they're totally doable. Also, mine weren't bone-in, but I don't think that made much of a difference.
- I totally forgot to season the hash with salt and pepper, but it was still delicious. The sweetness of the sweet potatoes with the saltiness of the bacon is perfection (especially if you sop up a little of the glaze with the hash), so I'm not sure how much more seasoning I'd want to add, but I'll probably try a little bit of salt and pepper next time I make it just to see what it's like.
- Things you can do ahead of time: peel and chop the sweet potatoes, microwave the sweet potatoes (I did this a few hours before cooking and they stayed perfectly good), cook the bacon (ditto - just don't wash the skillet after you pour off the fat, because the little bits left stuck to the bottom will help season the hash).
- I crumbled the bacon with my fingers, rather than chopping it, and I don't think it made much of a difference.
Seriously, y'all, go try this NOW. Yeah, it's a heart attack on a plate, but what a way to go!
(I will probably post more of these recipes soon, because pretty much every single one has been a home run.)
Maple-Glazed Pork Chops with Sweet Potato-Bacon Hash
from America's Test Kitchen 30-Minute Suppers (this was something I bought last December - it wasn't really a magazine, just a set of 96 full-color tear-out cards with a bunch of winter recipes)
Serves 4
1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 large), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
6 slices bacon, chopped fine
4 bone-in rib pork chops, about 1 inch thick (see notes below)
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1. Place potatoes in large bowl and microwave, covered, until tender, 4 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to power towel-lined plate. Pour off bacon fat, reserving 2 tablespoons.
2. Pat chops dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat in skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown chops, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.
3. Add remaining reserved bacon fat and potatoes to empty pan and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in thyme and crisp bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl.
4. Add maple syrup, mustard, and vinegar to pan and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add chops, and any accumulated juices and simmer, turning often, until glaze coats chops, about 2 minutes. Serve.
Test Kitchen Note: To keep chops from curling, slit the fat and connective tissue on the sides of each chop at 2 inch intervals.
My notes:
- I had 5 small thin-cut pork chops (they were on sale), and it wasn't quite enough meat - that is, I had plenty more glaze, and Brandon commented that with how thin the chops were and the sweetness of the sauce, a thicker chop would've worked better (I agreed). But if thin-cut chops are all you have, they're totally doable. Also, mine weren't bone-in, but I don't think that made much of a difference.
- I totally forgot to season the hash with salt and pepper, but it was still delicious. The sweetness of the sweet potatoes with the saltiness of the bacon is perfection (especially if you sop up a little of the glaze with the hash), so I'm not sure how much more seasoning I'd want to add, but I'll probably try a little bit of salt and pepper next time I make it just to see what it's like.
- Things you can do ahead of time: peel and chop the sweet potatoes, microwave the sweet potatoes (I did this a few hours before cooking and they stayed perfectly good), cook the bacon (ditto - just don't wash the skillet after you pour off the fat, because the little bits left stuck to the bottom will help season the hash).
- I crumbled the bacon with my fingers, rather than chopping it, and I don't think it made much of a difference.
Seriously, y'all, go try this NOW. Yeah, it's a heart attack on a plate, but what a way to go!
(I will probably post more of these recipes soon, because pretty much every single one has been a home run.)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Kitchen Goings-On
While we had a bit of a lull last week, we've been having some pretty yummy from-scratch (or close) meals recently. Saturday, we made Low Country Boil because shrimp and sausage were on sale, and oh, it was so, so good. It's super easy: all you have to do beforehand is boil a BIG pot of water (we had to use two pots because I couldn't find our one enormous pot) and put in some Old Bay seasoning, salt, and vinegar, and then chop up a bunch of corn, sausage, and potatoes, and finally throw in some shrimp. Doesn't even take that long, either. As Brandon says, though, it's a bit of a labor-intensive meal to eat, what with the peeling of the shrimp and the corn on the cob. But it's worth it.
Tonight, we're having pizza on dough made in our bread machine (do you have a bread machine? If you love homemade bread/pizza dough/rolls, it makes them so much easier!). Since we don't agree on pizza toppings, we're gonna do what we always do and have a half-and-halfer: pineapple and sausage on Brandon's side, and tonight, a concoction of all sorts of wonderful things on my side: sauteed chopped garlic, sauteed chopped shallots, diced tomato, a little bit of pepperoni, a little bit of canadian bacon. YUM. Plus sauce and cheese of course.
Then tomorrow and Thursday (depending on how much effort I'm wanting to put in each of those days) we'll have chicken Caesar salad, with pre-cooked chicken from Trader Joe's, and chicken stir-fry with snow peas, broccoli, and red pepper (cut in big chunks for easy removal 'cause one of us - ahem - doesn't like red peppers). I realize with the pre-cooked chicken it's not exactly "from scratch," but it's more from scratch than heating up frozen green chili enchiladas (a TJ's favorite) or going to Wendy's.
This weekend - and here's where I'm getting excited - we're going to have grilled chicken and pineapple quesadillas. Oh my word, those look so good. We'll probably make bacon-wrapped, cream-cheese-stuffed jalapenos (I know!) too. And I believe there will be a brunch of the waffles/sausage/eggs variety as well. We're going to Charleston with our dear friends Alan and Megan, and since we're staying in a fully-furnished condo, we're looking forward to having time to cook together (well, Megan and I are - it is a pretty small kitchen, I don't know if we could get all four of us in there!).
I really like planning meals for the week, even if it's only a few different things. It's nice to have a lot of fresh ingredients in the fridge, so that if, for example, I decide I want an omelette for lunch, I don't have to improvise and use...um...pepperoni instead of delicious grilled chicken. (The pepperoni omelette was not a success, for the record.)
Hopefully there will be photos of our food-palooza this weekend! Or at very least, updates and plans for next week's meals.
Tonight, we're having pizza on dough made in our bread machine (do you have a bread machine? If you love homemade bread/pizza dough/rolls, it makes them so much easier!). Since we don't agree on pizza toppings, we're gonna do what we always do and have a half-and-halfer: pineapple and sausage on Brandon's side, and tonight, a concoction of all sorts of wonderful things on my side: sauteed chopped garlic, sauteed chopped shallots, diced tomato, a little bit of pepperoni, a little bit of canadian bacon. YUM. Plus sauce and cheese of course.
Then tomorrow and Thursday (depending on how much effort I'm wanting to put in each of those days) we'll have chicken Caesar salad, with pre-cooked chicken from Trader Joe's, and chicken stir-fry with snow peas, broccoli, and red pepper (cut in big chunks for easy removal 'cause one of us - ahem - doesn't like red peppers). I realize with the pre-cooked chicken it's not exactly "from scratch," but it's more from scratch than heating up frozen green chili enchiladas (a TJ's favorite) or going to Wendy's.
This weekend - and here's where I'm getting excited - we're going to have grilled chicken and pineapple quesadillas. Oh my word, those look so good. We'll probably make bacon-wrapped, cream-cheese-stuffed jalapenos (I know!) too. And I believe there will be a brunch of the waffles/sausage/eggs variety as well. We're going to Charleston with our dear friends Alan and Megan, and since we're staying in a fully-furnished condo, we're looking forward to having time to cook together (well, Megan and I are - it is a pretty small kitchen, I don't know if we could get all four of us in there!).
I really like planning meals for the week, even if it's only a few different things. It's nice to have a lot of fresh ingredients in the fridge, so that if, for example, I decide I want an omelette for lunch, I don't have to improvise and use...um...pepperoni instead of delicious grilled chicken. (The pepperoni omelette was not a success, for the record.)
Hopefully there will be photos of our food-palooza this weekend! Or at very least, updates and plans for next week's meals.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Pioneer Woman!
First of all, if you haven't heard of The Pioneer Woman, you MUST check her out. She lives on a working cattle ranch in Oklahoma with her husband and four children, and she just about does it all: she cooks (and documents each recipe with many photos), even recently publishing a cookbook that shot to the top of the bestseller list; she homeschools her children, and blogs about it, sharing helpful resources; she just finished a book about how she met and fell in love with her husband; and she does all the things that a wife and a mom have to do on top of that, including keeping cows out of her front yard. It's not hard to see why she's gotten popular - her writing is hilarious and self-deprecating, and yet she makes you want her life all the same. She has been very inspirational to me and many of my friends, so we were thrilled when we found out that she would be doing a book-signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Charlotte!
Ree Drummond (her real name) gave a short talk about herself before the signing, and then answered questions from the audience. She's just as funny and approachable in real life as she is on her blog. Despite a long wait (we were in group H - each group had probably 20-30 people), we had a great time, and it was completely worth it to get to meet her and have my cookbook signed! We got photos, too, but those are on Megan's camera, so I'll add them later.
Our friends Alisa and Jason also came to the signing, but since they had to drive down from Greensboro after work, they were there a bit later. We all went to Amelie's afterwards. We found out later that someone had brought Ree a box of pastries from Amelie's at the signing, because she mentioned them both on Twitter and on her blog. Glad to see such a great place is getting national recognition!
Ree Drummond (her real name) gave a short talk about herself before the signing, and then answered questions from the audience. She's just as funny and approachable in real life as she is on her blog. Despite a long wait (we were in group H - each group had probably 20-30 people), we had a great time, and it was completely worth it to get to meet her and have my cookbook signed! We got photos, too, but those are on Megan's camera, so I'll add them later.
Our friends Alisa and Jason also came to the signing, but since they had to drive down from Greensboro after work, they were there a bit later. We all went to Amelie's afterwards. We found out later that someone had brought Ree a box of pastries from Amelie's at the signing, because she mentioned them both on Twitter and on her blog. Glad to see such a great place is getting national recognition!
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