The frustration continues. So, I totally meant to write last Thursday, but as you may know I didn't. I didn't because I was frustrated and confused and all aflutter. You see, I went to my interview Thursday afternoon and I was fine. I was calm, cool and confident. I got into the interview and they asked questions and I answered and all was going well. Then just as the interview was wrapping up, they said “And now we need a writing sample. We'll give you 30 minutes to write a one to two minute congratulatory speech on the opening of the new Kia plant in Georgia”. Wah?! To put this in perspective, a one minute speech is about a typed page worth of words. I also know absolutely nothing about Kia. If I had a couple hours, I could probably have whipped up a killer speech about whatever they wanted (clearly I like to write) but 30 minutes isn't even enough time to type out 2 pages worth of material let alone research something that you know nothing about. Well, I researched a little online and came up with some interesting facts about Kia and the new plant they built (they are the only plant in North America to put wood floors on the production line, which is apparently easier on the workers). I had just enough time to write about 2 paragraphs and they came and said time's up. The sentences were disjointed and not cohesive, there was no flow whatsoever, and I hadn't even put any sort of closing on the speech. I was sweating bullets. I know I can write (although it's been a long time since I've written any type of formal speech). I know I can research, and I know that measly handful of sentences was not my best work; it wasn't even mediocre. So, when I got home Thursday night I was in no mood to write or really do much of anything. I spent this whole weekend kicking myself. Ok, so I spent the whole weekend kicking myself minus the time that I partying hardy at a bachelorette party, and that was only because I was too drunk to do so. The kicking recommenced Sunday morning with the added bonus of also getting to kick myself for drinking so much the night before.
Fast forward to yesterday... I got a call. They want to see me again Wednesday because the Consul General wants to ask a few more questions. Arg! How much longer can they string this along? The job is supposed to start this coming Monday. I suppose at least it isn't a no, but I'm not entirely sure what this means. My sister thinks it's so they can offer me the job in person (best case scenario). I think it's because they are waffling between candidates and want to ask more questions (most likely scenario). Of course, they could have been bored and decided to make a game of torturing me (worst case scenario). Meh!
So, needless to say, all I have been able to think about for the past several days has been this job. Clearly I will be thinking about it for a few more days. But... in the meantime you can make my newest recipe: Ranch Chicken. The guys liked it so much that they ran out (over 12lbs of chicken for 24 people).
Ranch Chicken
Serves 6
6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 packets of Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
2 cups Milk
2 cups Low Fat or Fat Free Plain Yogurt
2 medium Tomatoes, sliced
12 slices of Bacon
1 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Mix together the dressing mix, milk and yogurt. Flatten chicken breasts between two sheets of waxed paper until chicken breasts are an even thickness. Pour over the chicken and refrigerate for 1-3 hours.
Remove chicken and shake off any extra dressing. Broil for approximately 7 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through. Top each breast with a couple slices of tomato, a couple slices of bacon and a small handful of cheese. Return to the broiler and broil until cheese melts, 2-3 minutes.
Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Life Happens
Ok, so I know I promised you an oven baked fish recipe and a lower calorie mac and cheese recipe. Here’s what happened, it didn’t happen. Friday, the day I had planned to make these delicacies, was A. much to hot for extended oven baking and B. Tyler was supposed to be home at 6pm and he was, but then there was catastrophic failure at work and he had to go back in. So, we had pigs in a blanket because they were fast and didn’t require extended oven usage. Then this weekend was super busy, and it really didn’t happen. What can I say, life happens.
Oh by the way, a shout out to all mothers… Happy Mother’s Day! I would especially like to thank my mother. If you want to know where my love for cooking and creativity in the kitchen comes from, it is most definitely from my mother.
Speaking of life happens, I’m still out of work. Bah humbug. My parents are redoing their kitchen and wanted to repaint… basically the whole house. The problem, dad decided he really didn’t want to paint it himself. So, he asked me if I wanted to paint for a little extra cash. Ok… I’m not sure if I ever mentioned that I do not paint for a living and have never painted for a living. As a matter of fact, I’ve only ever had a few major home décor painting projects and I’ve never painted crown molding (eek, a ladder!). Perhaps I should also mention that my dad is a paint perfectionist. (Perhaps being a second generation in the paint industry has something to do with it). So to say that I was a little nervous getting started today is an understatement. While I don’t mind painting, I think I’d like a real job. Preferably not one an hour an a half away (the commute to my parent’s). Not that I'm not grateful to my excellent parents for enabling me to pay the rent... I'm just fairly sure that I want a real job at a desk not on top of a tall ladder painting crown molding.
The good news is I did come up with a new recipe this weekend. I made some Chicken Fajita Quesadillas. They turned out fabulous. I made them in the oven, which I think is an ingenious way to make quesadillas especially when you want to make several. They crisp up nicely and you only have to turn them once so there’s no worry about everything falling out. There’s also no need to get a silly quesadilla machine. Serve these with a little sour cream, guacamole and a margarita.
Chicken Fajita Quesadillas
Serves 4
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cut into thin strips
3 cups Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese, divided
8-10 6-inch Tortillas
1 cup Bell Pepper (any color or a mix of colors) cut into strips
1 cup Onion, cut into thin strips
1 medium Tomato, cut into thin wedges
Fajita Mix (use store bought or you can make your own with the recipe below)
Vegetable Oil
Cooking Spray
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbs of oil over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and onions and sauté until onion is tender. Remove the vegetables from skillet and add a little extra oil. Brown chicken until cooked through. Add vegetables back into the pan along with the fajita mix and 3 tbs of water. Add in tomato wedges and simmer, uncovered for 3-5 minutes or until water is mostly evaporated. Spray the one side of each of the tortillas with cooking spray and arrange half of them, sprayed side down, on a greased cookie sheet. Using half of the cheese, spread equal amounts of cheese on each of the tortillas. Arrange a layer of chicken and vegetables on each tortilla (try to keep the layers as flat as possible to make for easier handling). Sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top of the chicken and vegetables and top with the remaining tortillas, sprayed side up. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, turning once halfway through.
Fajita Seasoning Mix
Note: I never seem to have a packet of taco or fajita seasoning on hand when I want it. But with the help of a little internet research, I found that I usually have all the ingredients I need for a good seasoning mix already in my cupboard, plus then I can control how spicy or salty the mix is.
This mix is the equivalent of one spice packet… seasons one pound of meat
1 ½ tsp Chili Powder (I used Chipotle Chili Powder for a smoky kick)
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Ground Cumin
¼ tsp Onion Powder
½ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ tsp Black Pepper
A pinch of Ground Cayenne Pepper (Optional)
1 tbs Cornstarch
Mix ingredients together and use as you would a packet of fajita seasoning
Oh by the way, a shout out to all mothers… Happy Mother’s Day! I would especially like to thank my mother. If you want to know where my love for cooking and creativity in the kitchen comes from, it is most definitely from my mother.
Speaking of life happens, I’m still out of work. Bah humbug. My parents are redoing their kitchen and wanted to repaint… basically the whole house. The problem, dad decided he really didn’t want to paint it himself. So, he asked me if I wanted to paint for a little extra cash. Ok… I’m not sure if I ever mentioned that I do not paint for a living and have never painted for a living. As a matter of fact, I’ve only ever had a few major home décor painting projects and I’ve never painted crown molding (eek, a ladder!). Perhaps I should also mention that my dad is a paint perfectionist. (Perhaps being a second generation in the paint industry has something to do with it). So to say that I was a little nervous getting started today is an understatement. While I don’t mind painting, I think I’d like a real job. Preferably not one an hour an a half away (the commute to my parent’s). Not that I'm not grateful to my excellent parents for enabling me to pay the rent... I'm just fairly sure that I want a real job at a desk not on top of a tall ladder painting crown molding.
The good news is I did come up with a new recipe this weekend. I made some Chicken Fajita Quesadillas. They turned out fabulous. I made them in the oven, which I think is an ingenious way to make quesadillas especially when you want to make several. They crisp up nicely and you only have to turn them once so there’s no worry about everything falling out. There’s also no need to get a silly quesadilla machine. Serve these with a little sour cream, guacamole and a margarita.
Chicken Fajita Quesadillas
Serves 4
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cut into thin strips
3 cups Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese, divided
8-10 6-inch Tortillas
1 cup Bell Pepper (any color or a mix of colors) cut into strips
1 cup Onion, cut into thin strips
1 medium Tomato, cut into thin wedges
Fajita Mix (use store bought or you can make your own with the recipe below)
Vegetable Oil
Cooking Spray
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbs of oil over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and onions and sauté until onion is tender. Remove the vegetables from skillet and add a little extra oil. Brown chicken until cooked through. Add vegetables back into the pan along with the fajita mix and 3 tbs of water. Add in tomato wedges and simmer, uncovered for 3-5 minutes or until water is mostly evaporated. Spray the one side of each of the tortillas with cooking spray and arrange half of them, sprayed side down, on a greased cookie sheet. Using half of the cheese, spread equal amounts of cheese on each of the tortillas. Arrange a layer of chicken and vegetables on each tortilla (try to keep the layers as flat as possible to make for easier handling). Sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top of the chicken and vegetables and top with the remaining tortillas, sprayed side up. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, turning once halfway through.
Fajita Seasoning Mix
Note: I never seem to have a packet of taco or fajita seasoning on hand when I want it. But with the help of a little internet research, I found that I usually have all the ingredients I need for a good seasoning mix already in my cupboard, plus then I can control how spicy or salty the mix is.
This mix is the equivalent of one spice packet… seasons one pound of meat
1 ½ tsp Chili Powder (I used Chipotle Chili Powder for a smoky kick)
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Ground Cumin
¼ tsp Onion Powder
½ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ tsp Black Pepper
A pinch of Ground Cayenne Pepper (Optional)
1 tbs Cornstarch
Mix ingredients together and use as you would a packet of fajita seasoning
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
UPDATE
Lunch: Chicken Quesadillas, Chips and Salsa
Dinner: Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti and Salad
UPDATE: So, when I arrived at my old landlord’s office yesterday just before 3:30pm, he wasn’t there. Apparently he goes home every day between 2 and 3. Urgh! He said he would call us and let us know when he was available. Well, there’s no way I could leave work early today (I have cinnamon rolls to prep), and I certainly wouldn’t be able to make it from downtown Atlanta all the way out to Conyers (where his office is located) at the drop of a hat. So, poor Tyler had to wake up early and take me to the bus. I must admit, I really don’t feel that bad for Tyler. He completely balked at the idea of having to wake up early, and I had to kindly point out that not only was this a one time deal, but that I have to get up that early every morning (and he’s always poking fun at me because I want to go to bed before 11pm). I hate only having one car.
In other news, the frat boys have run amuck. Apparently the stress of finals and the upcoming, relative freedom of summer has made them take leave of what little brains and civility they had. They completely cleaned out the fridge over the weekend, and by cleaned I mean ate everything they could find like a bunch of Hoover vacuums. So, if they’re short on chicken quesadillas today because those buttheads ate the tortillas and cheese (again with the cheese!), then I really don’t care. I’m feeling a bit of the end of semester lassez-faire as well. They want to eat the cheese and tortillas? Ok, I’ll put out a big bowl of canned chicken with taco seasoning and call it lunch. They also took an entire gallon of whole milk that was needed for cinnamon rolls. I sent the steward a quick e-mail letting him know I would be unable to make cinnamon rolls because we had no milk. Unsurprisingly, he went out and bought a gallon of milk right away. Ahh the power of cinnamon rolls! In order to discourage any further thieving, I left a note on the whiteboard: “Dear Lodge Inhabitants, If you remove or “borrow” any of the following ingredients, it will result in my being unable to make cinnamon rolls for tomorrow: sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, milk, maple and vanilla” Hopefully, that will deter them. I’m serious about not making cinnamon rolls if any of it’s missing, even if they only wanted a glass of milk.
Today’s recipe is oven-baked chicken parmesan. Tyler’s favorite “Italian” dish is chicken parmesan. I would bet anyone any amount of money that, no matter what Italian restaurant we go to, so long as they have chicken parmesan on the menu, that’s what he’s ordering. I wanted to make it for the guys, sautéing it in oil on the stove would take waaay to long. So I came up with this version. I adapted the coating from my chicken cordon bleu recipe. Dipping the chicken in butter and then in the breading makes the bread crumbs turn crispy (rather than soggy) in the oven. As a plus, because this recipe is done in the oven (rather than on the stove, dripping with oil) it’s also a little healthier. (Note: I said healthier, not calorie free, it still has butter and parmesan cheese). I used chicken tenders, but you can use chicken breasts. If you are using chicken breasts, I would pound them a little to make them thinner so the breading doesn’t burn while you’re waiting for the chicken to get done. This is also an excellent breading recipe for fish (you’ll have to adjust the time though).
Oven Baked Parmesan Cheese
Serves 6
1 ½ lbs Chicken Tenders
1 1/4 cups Bread Crumbs
1 ¼ cups Parmesan
2 ½ tbs Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 cup Butter or Margarine, melted
Salt and Pepper to taste (you’ll only need a little salt because the cheese is salty)
Preheat oven to 350; lightly spray a shallow baking pan (or cookie sheet with sides) with cooking spray. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan, italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Dip chicken in butter and shake off excess. Roll chicken in bread crumb mixture being sure to thoroughly coat with bread crumbs and place on pan in a single layer. Bake for approx 20 minutes turning midway through. Serve with spaghetti and marinara sauce.
Dinner: Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti and Salad
UPDATE: So, when I arrived at my old landlord’s office yesterday just before 3:30pm, he wasn’t there. Apparently he goes home every day between 2 and 3. Urgh! He said he would call us and let us know when he was available. Well, there’s no way I could leave work early today (I have cinnamon rolls to prep), and I certainly wouldn’t be able to make it from downtown Atlanta all the way out to Conyers (where his office is located) at the drop of a hat. So, poor Tyler had to wake up early and take me to the bus. I must admit, I really don’t feel that bad for Tyler. He completely balked at the idea of having to wake up early, and I had to kindly point out that not only was this a one time deal, but that I have to get up that early every morning (and he’s always poking fun at me because I want to go to bed before 11pm). I hate only having one car.
In other news, the frat boys have run amuck. Apparently the stress of finals and the upcoming, relative freedom of summer has made them take leave of what little brains and civility they had. They completely cleaned out the fridge over the weekend, and by cleaned I mean ate everything they could find like a bunch of Hoover vacuums. So, if they’re short on chicken quesadillas today because those buttheads ate the tortillas and cheese (again with the cheese!), then I really don’t care. I’m feeling a bit of the end of semester lassez-faire as well. They want to eat the cheese and tortillas? Ok, I’ll put out a big bowl of canned chicken with taco seasoning and call it lunch. They also took an entire gallon of whole milk that was needed for cinnamon rolls. I sent the steward a quick e-mail letting him know I would be unable to make cinnamon rolls because we had no milk. Unsurprisingly, he went out and bought a gallon of milk right away. Ahh the power of cinnamon rolls! In order to discourage any further thieving, I left a note on the whiteboard: “Dear Lodge Inhabitants, If you remove or “borrow” any of the following ingredients, it will result in my being unable to make cinnamon rolls for tomorrow: sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, milk, maple and vanilla” Hopefully, that will deter them. I’m serious about not making cinnamon rolls if any of it’s missing, even if they only wanted a glass of milk.
Today’s recipe is oven-baked chicken parmesan. Tyler’s favorite “Italian” dish is chicken parmesan. I would bet anyone any amount of money that, no matter what Italian restaurant we go to, so long as they have chicken parmesan on the menu, that’s what he’s ordering. I wanted to make it for the guys, sautéing it in oil on the stove would take waaay to long. So I came up with this version. I adapted the coating from my chicken cordon bleu recipe. Dipping the chicken in butter and then in the breading makes the bread crumbs turn crispy (rather than soggy) in the oven. As a plus, because this recipe is done in the oven (rather than on the stove, dripping with oil) it’s also a little healthier. (Note: I said healthier, not calorie free, it still has butter and parmesan cheese). I used chicken tenders, but you can use chicken breasts. If you are using chicken breasts, I would pound them a little to make them thinner so the breading doesn’t burn while you’re waiting for the chicken to get done. This is also an excellent breading recipe for fish (you’ll have to adjust the time though).
Oven Baked Parmesan Cheese
Serves 6
1 ½ lbs Chicken Tenders
1 1/4 cups Bread Crumbs
1 ¼ cups Parmesan
2 ½ tbs Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 cup Butter or Margarine, melted
Salt and Pepper to taste (you’ll only need a little salt because the cheese is salty)
Preheat oven to 350; lightly spray a shallow baking pan (or cookie sheet with sides) with cooking spray. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan, italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Dip chicken in butter and shake off excess. Roll chicken in bread crumb mixture being sure to thoroughly coat with bread crumbs and place on pan in a single layer. Bake for approx 20 minutes turning midway through. Serve with spaghetti and marinara sauce.
Monday, April 12, 2010
KaBoom!
Lunch: Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Chips and Pineapple Tidbits
Dinner: Jerked Chicken, Yellow Rice and Veggies
Disaster is temporarily averted. I did not blow up. You may feel free to breathe out a sigh of relief now. In case you’re wondering what I’m talking about, there could have very nearly been a disaster today. I was working in the kitchen as usual (read: dinking around on the internet) when I started to get a terrible headache. I went outside for a little air, and upon returning, noticed the kitchen smelled like gas. I checked all of the knobs on the stove to be sure they were in the proper off position; they were. I asked a passing frat boy if he thought the kitchens smelled like gas, and he confirmed it. I had to get in touch with the higher ups and let them know. They came down and started sniffing around, determined it was one of the stove burners leaking and then shut off the main gas line. Ok… well that makes it hard to cook. So I waited awhile for them to get in contact with someone… then the time for me to start cooking came and went. By the time 3 o’clock rolled around, I was beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t just go home. I called the president of the fraternity to determine what was being done. He said they weren’t going to be able to get anyone out there until tomorrow. So, he lit the offending burner and turned it on low. Eeft! I was terrified the whole thing would blow. I let them know that in no uncertain terms would I cook like that again tomorrow. They had to get it fixed, pronto. It’s just too dangerous otherwise. The kitchen is poorly ventilated. What would have happened if I hadn’t discovered it till tomorrow and then went to light the stove…? I say again, eeft!
I really must apologize for my spotty posting of late. I’m in the middle of trying to get our house cleaned, packed and moved. So unless I can get my post done on the bus, then I’m not going to get a post out that night. It isn’t always possible to get a post done on the bus either. Frequently, I’ll have large seat mates who take up more than their own seat so I can’t put my computer on my lap, or the person in front of me will lean their seat back so far they’re practically in my lap (the commuter buses are like greyhound buses). Once, I even had a seat mate that kept falling asleep on me.
If I ever do find a real job (like Pinocchio, he wanted to be a real boy… well, I want to have a real job), I think I know what I’m going to re-name my blog… “Cooking by the Seat of Your Pants” Do you like it? I think it’s a rather apt description of my cooking style. I have a tendency to just throw myself into it and see how it goes. I never follow recipes exactly. I might research different recipes, trying to find one that describes what I’m trying to achieve or to give me ideas on the general method or cook times, but I always end up changing it as I’m going. I frequently, especially at home, just dive into my cupboards to see what will go with what. Although, I’ve become rather accustomed to doing that at work too when the guys thieve my ingredients and I have to make on the fly substitutions. This week I decided to make jerk chicken for the guys. I had a couple jars of jerk seasoning blend leftover from a previous recipe and decided that I would just get some chicken and figure something out. Well, it wouldn’t work just to sprinkle the seasoning on the thighs and legs I got. The skin would be tasty, but the meat would be bland. Well… I served pineapple for lunch, and I always pour the juice off canned pineapple and save it. (I love the juice from a can of pineapple, my siblings and I used to fight over who got to drink the juice when we had canned pineapple at home). But there was only about 3 cups of pineapple juice… not really enough, I needed something else… To the fridge! Hmm… Leftover orange juice from Friday’s lunch? Ok! Mayo… no Mustard…. no… Pickles, probably not. Ah ha! Soy sauce. Pineapple juice and soy sauce make a great base for teriyaki marinade. Asian food has a lot of the same blending of sweet and hot that Jamaican cuisine is known for. We’ll use that! Voila, add in the orange juice and jerk seasoning and you have a respectable marinade. Maybe not authentic, but we’re not necessarily going for authentic; we’re going for tasty. The minute I blended it together I knew we had a winner. And that my friends is a brief glimpse into how I cook.
What was in the Fridge Jerk Chicken
serves 24
48 Chicken Legs and/or Thighs
3 cups Pineapple Juice
3 cups Orange Juice
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
2 bottles Jerk Seasoning Blend
Blend the orange juice, pineapple juice, soy sauce and jerk seasoning together. Pour over chicken legs and thighs. Cover and marinate at least 4 hours or overnight (overnight is better).
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a shallow oven proof casserole or roasting pan. Place chicken, skin side up in casserole; discard marinade. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until internal temperature reads 165 degrees. Skin may blacken a little.
(You can use a homemade jerk seasoning blend, there are plenty of recipes out there. Use about 1/3 to ½ cup or seasoning blend for this recipe)
Dinner: Jerked Chicken, Yellow Rice and Veggies
Disaster is temporarily averted. I did not blow up. You may feel free to breathe out a sigh of relief now. In case you’re wondering what I’m talking about, there could have very nearly been a disaster today. I was working in the kitchen as usual (read: dinking around on the internet) when I started to get a terrible headache. I went outside for a little air, and upon returning, noticed the kitchen smelled like gas. I checked all of the knobs on the stove to be sure they were in the proper off position; they were. I asked a passing frat boy if he thought the kitchens smelled like gas, and he confirmed it. I had to get in touch with the higher ups and let them know. They came down and started sniffing around, determined it was one of the stove burners leaking and then shut off the main gas line. Ok… well that makes it hard to cook. So I waited awhile for them to get in contact with someone… then the time for me to start cooking came and went. By the time 3 o’clock rolled around, I was beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t just go home. I called the president of the fraternity to determine what was being done. He said they weren’t going to be able to get anyone out there until tomorrow. So, he lit the offending burner and turned it on low. Eeft! I was terrified the whole thing would blow. I let them know that in no uncertain terms would I cook like that again tomorrow. They had to get it fixed, pronto. It’s just too dangerous otherwise. The kitchen is poorly ventilated. What would have happened if I hadn’t discovered it till tomorrow and then went to light the stove…? I say again, eeft!
I really must apologize for my spotty posting of late. I’m in the middle of trying to get our house cleaned, packed and moved. So unless I can get my post done on the bus, then I’m not going to get a post out that night. It isn’t always possible to get a post done on the bus either. Frequently, I’ll have large seat mates who take up more than their own seat so I can’t put my computer on my lap, or the person in front of me will lean their seat back so far they’re practically in my lap (the commuter buses are like greyhound buses). Once, I even had a seat mate that kept falling asleep on me.
If I ever do find a real job (like Pinocchio, he wanted to be a real boy… well, I want to have a real job), I think I know what I’m going to re-name my blog… “Cooking by the Seat of Your Pants” Do you like it? I think it’s a rather apt description of my cooking style. I have a tendency to just throw myself into it and see how it goes. I never follow recipes exactly. I might research different recipes, trying to find one that describes what I’m trying to achieve or to give me ideas on the general method or cook times, but I always end up changing it as I’m going. I frequently, especially at home, just dive into my cupboards to see what will go with what. Although, I’ve become rather accustomed to doing that at work too when the guys thieve my ingredients and I have to make on the fly substitutions. This week I decided to make jerk chicken for the guys. I had a couple jars of jerk seasoning blend leftover from a previous recipe and decided that I would just get some chicken and figure something out. Well, it wouldn’t work just to sprinkle the seasoning on the thighs and legs I got. The skin would be tasty, but the meat would be bland. Well… I served pineapple for lunch, and I always pour the juice off canned pineapple and save it. (I love the juice from a can of pineapple, my siblings and I used to fight over who got to drink the juice when we had canned pineapple at home). But there was only about 3 cups of pineapple juice… not really enough, I needed something else… To the fridge! Hmm… Leftover orange juice from Friday’s lunch? Ok! Mayo… no Mustard…. no… Pickles, probably not. Ah ha! Soy sauce. Pineapple juice and soy sauce make a great base for teriyaki marinade. Asian food has a lot of the same blending of sweet and hot that Jamaican cuisine is known for. We’ll use that! Voila, add in the orange juice and jerk seasoning and you have a respectable marinade. Maybe not authentic, but we’re not necessarily going for authentic; we’re going for tasty. The minute I blended it together I knew we had a winner. And that my friends is a brief glimpse into how I cook.
What was in the Fridge Jerk Chicken
serves 24
48 Chicken Legs and/or Thighs
3 cups Pineapple Juice
3 cups Orange Juice
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
2 bottles Jerk Seasoning Blend
Blend the orange juice, pineapple juice, soy sauce and jerk seasoning together. Pour over chicken legs and thighs. Cover and marinate at least 4 hours or overnight (overnight is better).
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a shallow oven proof casserole or roasting pan. Place chicken, skin side up in casserole; discard marinade. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until internal temperature reads 165 degrees. Skin may blacken a little.
(You can use a homemade jerk seasoning blend, there are plenty of recipes out there. Use about 1/3 to ½ cup or seasoning blend for this recipe)
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Cheese Platitudes
Lunch: Chicken Nuggets, French Fries, Carrot and Celery and Ranch Dip
Dinner: Spaghetti Burgers, Pasta Salad and Salad
Word to the wise, don’t piss off the chef. If you’re drunk and feel the need to write a treatise on how there’s too much cheese in the fridge on the whiteboard outside the kitchen, don’t. Just don’t. Unless you really want to piss off the chef and she then decides to no longer serve cheese. You might find yourself being chased down by your fraternity brothers with pitchforks when they find out there will be no more bacon (or chicken) mac and cheese. Yes, that’s right, on coming into work today I found a drunken message on the whiteboard outlining why one brother thought there was an excessive amount of cheese in the fridge. Really? Of all the possible culprits… you choose cheese? Of course, I was just a little miffed about the whole thing. I especially liked the notes after each platitude saying “CHEF DO NOT ERASE”. They put little boxes around them to make sure they were noticed. The best part, though, was that in each bulleted point they made sure to point out the expiration date of the cheese and whether or not it was processed. They even underlined the fact that the mozzarella I buy is “highly processed”. Ok… at least none of the cheese was expired. They might have room to complain if there was a fridge full of expired cheese that didn’t get used. But complaining that there were several pounds of cheese in the fridge and that some of it was “highly processed”? I thought I was cooking for a fraternity, not some sorority with recovering processed cheese addicts. Why is there so much cheese (and cheese product) in the fridge? Because that’s how much the guys eat. I didn’t erase the sign; I brought the steward down to see the board. He seemed a little flabbergasted. Seriously? Cheese? He apologized and promised to thoroughly shame the culprit. I kind of wish I knew who it was so I could throw Cheez Whiz at him. I bet he would cry.
I had another surprise today on coming into work. All of the chicken noodle soup I made yesterday was gone. Food being gone is not necessarily news around here, but you have to understand, I made a substantial amount of chicken noodle soup. And, it wasn’t just any kind of chicken noodle soup, homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade broth. I spent all day boiling chicken and vegetables, then picking the chicken thighs and cutting up new vegetables etc etc and ended up with around 28 quarts worth of chicken soup. In case you’re wondering, that’s around 7 gallons of soup. It wasn’t even very soupy as it was chock full of chicken and noodles (and corn and carrots). When I talked to the steward he said that everyone loved the chicken soup, and that they thought it was magic because they kept going back for more and… finding more. It was like magic soup. I tried the soup, and it was pretty magical. Homemade chicken soup takes some time to make, but it blows that mushy canned stuff right out of the water. In fact, my homemade chicken noodle soup is the reason my husband eats soup today (not to brag or anything…). Of course, there are always some dissenters in the group. Apparently the guy who wrote the cheese platitudes didn’t like the soup. How much more natural and unprocessed can you get than homemade chicken noodle soup?
Kristen’s Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves a whole lot of people, a small army or 23 really hungry frat boys
1 ½ gallon water
1 ½ gallon chicken broth
18 lbs chicken thighs
1 tbs Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
3 tbs Old Bay Seasoning
6 Bay Leaves
1 tbs black pepper
1 tbs ground sage
1 tbs celery seed
16 medium carrots
1 bunch of celery
3 large onions
3 lbs of corn
3 lbs egg noodles
Put the chicken in a large stock pot and cover with chicken broth and water. Stir in Lawry’s Seasoning Salt, Old Bay Seasoning, bay leaves, ground sage, black pepper and celery seed. Cut 5 carrots, celery (celery leaves and all) and 1 onion into large chunks and put in the pot. Bring the broth to a boil and then cover and simmer for 1 hour. Using tongs, remove chicken from the broth and set aside to cool. Strain the vegetables out of the broth, and then skim the grease off the top of the broth. (Note: You can make the broth a day ahead and put it in the fridge at this point. The grease will harden over night and you can skim the hardened grease off the top easily). While the chicken is still warm, remove the skin. If you’re having trouble getting the skin off the chicken, warm it up in the microwave for a minute. Pick all of the chicken off the bones and shred it. Chop the remaining carrots and onions into bite-sized pieces.
After you have skimmed the grease from the broth, put it back on the stove. Bring the broth to a boil and add the noodles, carrots and onions. Cook the noodles for the time indicated in the directions. Add in the shredded chicken and frozen corn. You may need to add a few extra quarts of water at this point and adjust the seasonings. Simmer for 10-15. Serve with warm bread.
Dinner: Spaghetti Burgers, Pasta Salad and Salad
Word to the wise, don’t piss off the chef. If you’re drunk and feel the need to write a treatise on how there’s too much cheese in the fridge on the whiteboard outside the kitchen, don’t. Just don’t. Unless you really want to piss off the chef and she then decides to no longer serve cheese. You might find yourself being chased down by your fraternity brothers with pitchforks when they find out there will be no more bacon (or chicken) mac and cheese. Yes, that’s right, on coming into work today I found a drunken message on the whiteboard outlining why one brother thought there was an excessive amount of cheese in the fridge. Really? Of all the possible culprits… you choose cheese? Of course, I was just a little miffed about the whole thing. I especially liked the notes after each platitude saying “CHEF DO NOT ERASE”. They put little boxes around them to make sure they were noticed. The best part, though, was that in each bulleted point they made sure to point out the expiration date of the cheese and whether or not it was processed. They even underlined the fact that the mozzarella I buy is “highly processed”. Ok… at least none of the cheese was expired. They might have room to complain if there was a fridge full of expired cheese that didn’t get used. But complaining that there were several pounds of cheese in the fridge and that some of it was “highly processed”? I thought I was cooking for a fraternity, not some sorority with recovering processed cheese addicts. Why is there so much cheese (and cheese product) in the fridge? Because that’s how much the guys eat. I didn’t erase the sign; I brought the steward down to see the board. He seemed a little flabbergasted. Seriously? Cheese? He apologized and promised to thoroughly shame the culprit. I kind of wish I knew who it was so I could throw Cheez Whiz at him. I bet he would cry.
I had another surprise today on coming into work. All of the chicken noodle soup I made yesterday was gone. Food being gone is not necessarily news around here, but you have to understand, I made a substantial amount of chicken noodle soup. And, it wasn’t just any kind of chicken noodle soup, homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade broth. I spent all day boiling chicken and vegetables, then picking the chicken thighs and cutting up new vegetables etc etc and ended up with around 28 quarts worth of chicken soup. In case you’re wondering, that’s around 7 gallons of soup. It wasn’t even very soupy as it was chock full of chicken and noodles (and corn and carrots). When I talked to the steward he said that everyone loved the chicken soup, and that they thought it was magic because they kept going back for more and… finding more. It was like magic soup. I tried the soup, and it was pretty magical. Homemade chicken soup takes some time to make, but it blows that mushy canned stuff right out of the water. In fact, my homemade chicken noodle soup is the reason my husband eats soup today (not to brag or anything…). Of course, there are always some dissenters in the group. Apparently the guy who wrote the cheese platitudes didn’t like the soup. How much more natural and unprocessed can you get than homemade chicken noodle soup?
Kristen’s Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves a whole lot of people, a small army or 23 really hungry frat boys
1 ½ gallon water
1 ½ gallon chicken broth
18 lbs chicken thighs
1 tbs Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
3 tbs Old Bay Seasoning
6 Bay Leaves
1 tbs black pepper
1 tbs ground sage
1 tbs celery seed
16 medium carrots
1 bunch of celery
3 large onions
3 lbs of corn
3 lbs egg noodles
Put the chicken in a large stock pot and cover with chicken broth and water. Stir in Lawry’s Seasoning Salt, Old Bay Seasoning, bay leaves, ground sage, black pepper and celery seed. Cut 5 carrots, celery (celery leaves and all) and 1 onion into large chunks and put in the pot. Bring the broth to a boil and then cover and simmer for 1 hour. Using tongs, remove chicken from the broth and set aside to cool. Strain the vegetables out of the broth, and then skim the grease off the top of the broth. (Note: You can make the broth a day ahead and put it in the fridge at this point. The grease will harden over night and you can skim the hardened grease off the top easily). While the chicken is still warm, remove the skin. If you’re having trouble getting the skin off the chicken, warm it up in the microwave for a minute. Pick all of the chicken off the bones and shred it. Chop the remaining carrots and onions into bite-sized pieces.
After you have skimmed the grease from the broth, put it back on the stove. Bring the broth to a boil and add the noodles, carrots and onions. Cook the noodles for the time indicated in the directions. Add in the shredded chicken and frozen corn. You may need to add a few extra quarts of water at this point and adjust the seasonings. Simmer for 10-15. Serve with warm bread.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Bus Battle
Lunch: Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches
Dinner: Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes and Green Beans
Today may very well be one of the most beautiful days of the year. It was a balmy 68 and sunny today. Days like this are rare in good ol’ Georgia. Generally it goes from being relatively cold to being really hot in a matter of days. Therefore, you can’t take days like today for granted. Back in my college days, on beautiful days like today, I would cut class and find a grassy spot to stretch out on and revel in the beautiful weather. It seems the students at Tech decided to follow my lead. While out for my daily walk, 5 of the 8 frat houses I passed had moved their living rooms out onto the front lawn. I’m not kidding either; they dragged chairs and couches and coffee tables out onto their lawns and were lounging (many of them, rather unfortunately, shirtless… Not a thing you want to see on a bunch of pale Tech boys). There were countless games of Frisbee and random lounging in the sun on every available grassy spot. There was also the usual contingent of boys in hats playing guitar. You can’t walk across a college campus on a sunny day and not find a boy in a hat playing guitar for the ladies. I’m fairly sure it’s written in some international college guideline that you can’t be an accredited college without at least one guitar-playing-hat-wearing guy.
While the day was beautiful, it didn’t start off so pretty for me. Usually my morning bus ride is uneventful. People either sleep, read or fiddle with some electronic device for an hour. Rarely is there any talking or noise of any kind aside from the occasional clack of keys. In the afternoons, a few people might chat or talk on the phone, but in general people respect each other’s right to not be bothered. This morning however a man and a woman broke the silence. The man was texting and had his ringer on (quite possibly the world’s most annoying ringer too, it was some stupid rap song) so every minute or so, it went off. The woman sitting next to him asked him to turn the sound off. Rather than acquiesce to this simple request, he shouted at the top of his lungs “I can text if I want b*tch!”. Now, the woman could have changed seats and moved away from him or she could have kept her trap shut and left him alone. Of course, she didn’t do either. No, she started shouting back at him at the top of her lungs. They yelled at each other like a couple of crude children letting each other know where they could stick what and what they thought of the other’s mother. I plugged in my headphones and turned them up, but, unfortunately, they were right behind me and there was no escaping it. The rest of the bus patrons were looking back and shaking there heads; it being rather obvious that there was no shutting the two of them up. Finally, the woman moved to the front of the bus, but the guy didn’t shut up for the entire bus ride. I would have given anything for a tranquilizer gun. I will never understand some people and how they can behave so poorly. My 2 year old nephew has better manners and he still poops in his pants.
After such an eventful and stressful bus ride (I kept waiting for someone to throw a punch) I was really glad I’d planned an easy meal to start the week off. I like to plan something simple for Monday mornings to ease me into the work week. Today’s lunch was barbecue chicken sandwiches, and there are few things simpler. Although you could make it really easy on yourself and just used canned chicken, but I think canned chicken tastes a little like canned tuna which does not strike me as something I want to put barbeque sauce on… But, that’s just me. You can go ahead and do whatever floats your boat (how well would a boat float in canned chicken?)
Barbeque Chicken Sandwiches
serves 12
6 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Your Favorite BBQ Rub (See mine below*)
2-4 cups Barbeque Sauce
Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a large baking pan with cooking spray. Rub with plenty of BBQ rub . Place in baking dish, cover and bake for 20-25 minutes cooked throughout. Allow the breasts to cool enough so you can handle them. When they are cool, shred them. You can shred them with 2 forks, but I find that it works best just to pull them apart with your fingers. Place shredded chicken into a saucepan and cover with just enough ;barbeque sauce to coat chicken pieces. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally. Serve on hamburger buns with pickle slices.
*My Favorite BBQ Rub
Note: I don’t have measurements for this because I tend to just dump stuff together until it tastes right to me that day. I promise sometime in the future I’ll figure out the right measurements.
Chili Powder
A Pinch of Cumin
A Dash of Cayenne Pepper
Brown Sugar
Garlic Powder
A Dash of Onion Powder
Salt
Black Pepper or a medley of different peppers (I have a grinder with pink, black, green and white pepper corns)
Dinner: Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes and Green Beans
Today may very well be one of the most beautiful days of the year. It was a balmy 68 and sunny today. Days like this are rare in good ol’ Georgia. Generally it goes from being relatively cold to being really hot in a matter of days. Therefore, you can’t take days like today for granted. Back in my college days, on beautiful days like today, I would cut class and find a grassy spot to stretch out on and revel in the beautiful weather. It seems the students at Tech decided to follow my lead. While out for my daily walk, 5 of the 8 frat houses I passed had moved their living rooms out onto the front lawn. I’m not kidding either; they dragged chairs and couches and coffee tables out onto their lawns and were lounging (many of them, rather unfortunately, shirtless… Not a thing you want to see on a bunch of pale Tech boys). There were countless games of Frisbee and random lounging in the sun on every available grassy spot. There was also the usual contingent of boys in hats playing guitar. You can’t walk across a college campus on a sunny day and not find a boy in a hat playing guitar for the ladies. I’m fairly sure it’s written in some international college guideline that you can’t be an accredited college without at least one guitar-playing-hat-wearing guy.
While the day was beautiful, it didn’t start off so pretty for me. Usually my morning bus ride is uneventful. People either sleep, read or fiddle with some electronic device for an hour. Rarely is there any talking or noise of any kind aside from the occasional clack of keys. In the afternoons, a few people might chat or talk on the phone, but in general people respect each other’s right to not be bothered. This morning however a man and a woman broke the silence. The man was texting and had his ringer on (quite possibly the world’s most annoying ringer too, it was some stupid rap song) so every minute or so, it went off. The woman sitting next to him asked him to turn the sound off. Rather than acquiesce to this simple request, he shouted at the top of his lungs “I can text if I want b*tch!”. Now, the woman could have changed seats and moved away from him or she could have kept her trap shut and left him alone. Of course, she didn’t do either. No, she started shouting back at him at the top of her lungs. They yelled at each other like a couple of crude children letting each other know where they could stick what and what they thought of the other’s mother. I plugged in my headphones and turned them up, but, unfortunately, they were right behind me and there was no escaping it. The rest of the bus patrons were looking back and shaking there heads; it being rather obvious that there was no shutting the two of them up. Finally, the woman moved to the front of the bus, but the guy didn’t shut up for the entire bus ride. I would have given anything for a tranquilizer gun. I will never understand some people and how they can behave so poorly. My 2 year old nephew has better manners and he still poops in his pants.
After such an eventful and stressful bus ride (I kept waiting for someone to throw a punch) I was really glad I’d planned an easy meal to start the week off. I like to plan something simple for Monday mornings to ease me into the work week. Today’s lunch was barbecue chicken sandwiches, and there are few things simpler. Although you could make it really easy on yourself and just used canned chicken, but I think canned chicken tastes a little like canned tuna which does not strike me as something I want to put barbeque sauce on… But, that’s just me. You can go ahead and do whatever floats your boat (how well would a boat float in canned chicken?)
Barbeque Chicken Sandwiches
serves 12
6 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Your Favorite BBQ Rub (See mine below*)
2-4 cups Barbeque Sauce
Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a large baking pan with cooking spray. Rub with plenty of BBQ rub . Place in baking dish, cover and bake for 20-25 minutes cooked throughout. Allow the breasts to cool enough so you can handle them. When they are cool, shred them. You can shred them with 2 forks, but I find that it works best just to pull them apart with your fingers. Place shredded chicken into a saucepan and cover with just enough ;barbeque sauce to coat chicken pieces. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally. Serve on hamburger buns with pickle slices.
*My Favorite BBQ Rub
Note: I don’t have measurements for this because I tend to just dump stuff together until it tastes right to me that day. I promise sometime in the future I’ll figure out the right measurements.
Chili Powder
A Pinch of Cumin
A Dash of Cayenne Pepper
Brown Sugar
Garlic Powder
A Dash of Onion Powder
Salt
Black Pepper or a medley of different peppers (I have a grinder with pink, black, green and white pepper corns)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Pearls Before Frat Boys
Lunch: Chili Cheese Fries
Dinner: Ham and Cheese Potatoes and Corn
Ok, so it is really hard to keep up with eating healthy when the kitchen smells like bacon… or like chili cheese fries. Yesterday I made coq au vin for the guys. Coq au vin is a traditional French dish of chicken, bacon and vegetables simmered in red wine. It has to simmer for hours, so when I was sitting down to my pathetic lunch of a lean cuisine the kitchen was already smelling like bacon heaven. One of the guys actually came into the kitchen for lunch disappointed because he smelled bacon upstairs only to discover that the bacon was not for lunch. I bet I could put out a large tray of bacon for lunch one day and not only would no one care that all they were having for lunch was a large tray of bacon, I would most likely also get complements on the excellence of the lunch. Again, why do I bother casting pearls before frat boys? My sister had to remind me the title of this blog is gourmand not gourmet. In all fairness, coq au vin is one of those meals that is easier to prepare in bulk than it is for 2. I also pared the recipe down a bit to make it easier and more frat boy friendly (only 1 type of onion). The bacon aside, it is also not that bad for you or that expense (I used a cheap jug of wine… I‘m not sure if frat boys are even aware that there is any other kind of wine). I received Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child for Valentine’s Day, and I have been itching to try it out. I wonder if coq au vin is in there? The plan is to have a Julia Child party sometime in the near future with my family (my dad has recently become a huge Julia Child fan… you should hear his impersonation). I’ll have to let you know how that turns out.
(Relatively) Easy, Pared-Down Coq au Vin
serves 25
24 Slices Bacon
3 lbs Mushrooms, sliced**
28 lbs Chicken Thighs and Legs, skinned
Salt and Pepper
10 medium Carrots, chopped
6 medium Yellow Onions, chopped
3 heads Garlic, minced
8 cups Dry Red Wine (I used a jug of cheap table wine)
3 6oz cans of Tomato Paste
8 Bay Leaves
6 cups Chicken Broth
Vegetable Oil (or leftover grease from bacon)
Cook bacon in the oven at 400 until crisp, 5-10 minutes, then set aside on a paper towel to drain. Crumble the bacon when it is cool enough to handle.
Sprinkle Chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a large skillet heat oil (or you can use bacon grease) and brown chicken on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch. You will most likely have to do several batches. Remove the chicken and dump the remaining grease. Add in the carrots and onions and sauté until onion softens and is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add in wine, chicken stock, and tomato paste and stir until well combined.
In a large crock pot (I used a roaster oven set to 250) combine the chicken, mushrooms, red wine and carrot mixture, and crumbled bacon. Cover and simmer for 4 hours. You may want to stir the chicken several times to ensure that the chicken at the top doesn’t dry out. The chicken should be almost falling off the bone. Serve chicken with buttered, boiled potatoes with wine and veggie sauce poured over the chicken and potatoes.
** Note: You can substitute drained, canned mushrooms is you want a less mushroomy flavor.
*** How many times can a person say bacon in one paragraphy? I think I may have broken some kind of record
Dinner: Ham and Cheese Potatoes and Corn
Ok, so it is really hard to keep up with eating healthy when the kitchen smells like bacon… or like chili cheese fries. Yesterday I made coq au vin for the guys. Coq au vin is a traditional French dish of chicken, bacon and vegetables simmered in red wine. It has to simmer for hours, so when I was sitting down to my pathetic lunch of a lean cuisine the kitchen was already smelling like bacon heaven. One of the guys actually came into the kitchen for lunch disappointed because he smelled bacon upstairs only to discover that the bacon was not for lunch. I bet I could put out a large tray of bacon for lunch one day and not only would no one care that all they were having for lunch was a large tray of bacon, I would most likely also get complements on the excellence of the lunch. Again, why do I bother casting pearls before frat boys? My sister had to remind me the title of this blog is gourmand not gourmet. In all fairness, coq au vin is one of those meals that is easier to prepare in bulk than it is for 2. I also pared the recipe down a bit to make it easier and more frat boy friendly (only 1 type of onion). The bacon aside, it is also not that bad for you or that expense (I used a cheap jug of wine… I‘m not sure if frat boys are even aware that there is any other kind of wine). I received Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child for Valentine’s Day, and I have been itching to try it out. I wonder if coq au vin is in there? The plan is to have a Julia Child party sometime in the near future with my family (my dad has recently become a huge Julia Child fan… you should hear his impersonation). I’ll have to let you know how that turns out.
(Relatively) Easy, Pared-Down Coq au Vin
serves 25
24 Slices Bacon
3 lbs Mushrooms, sliced**
28 lbs Chicken Thighs and Legs, skinned
Salt and Pepper
10 medium Carrots, chopped
6 medium Yellow Onions, chopped
3 heads Garlic, minced
8 cups Dry Red Wine (I used a jug of cheap table wine)
3 6oz cans of Tomato Paste
8 Bay Leaves
6 cups Chicken Broth
Vegetable Oil (or leftover grease from bacon)
Cook bacon in the oven at 400 until crisp, 5-10 minutes, then set aside on a paper towel to drain. Crumble the bacon when it is cool enough to handle.
Sprinkle Chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a large skillet heat oil (or you can use bacon grease) and brown chicken on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch. You will most likely have to do several batches. Remove the chicken and dump the remaining grease. Add in the carrots and onions and sauté until onion softens and is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add in wine, chicken stock, and tomato paste and stir until well combined.
In a large crock pot (I used a roaster oven set to 250) combine the chicken, mushrooms, red wine and carrot mixture, and crumbled bacon. Cover and simmer for 4 hours. You may want to stir the chicken several times to ensure that the chicken at the top doesn’t dry out. The chicken should be almost falling off the bone. Serve chicken with buttered, boiled potatoes with wine and veggie sauce poured over the chicken and potatoes.
** Note: You can substitute drained, canned mushrooms is you want a less mushroomy flavor.
*** How many times can a person say bacon in one paragraphy? I think I may have broken some kind of record
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Fancy Dinner Plans
**Note: This was supposed to be yesterday’s post, but the internet was down… so here it is**
Lunch: Grilled Cheese and Soup
Dinner: Chili Mac, Veggies and Dinner Rolls
I’ve noticed that the guys have started straying into my kitchen more and more. While I don’t like people messing with my kitchen arrangement, I do love having someone to talk to. My brother is in Tennessee doing a co-op, and I’ve really missed having my baby brother there to talk to and make fun of. I kind of like playing the big sister part to the guys that make a point to come in and chat with me. One of the guys came in all lugubrious and was having a bad day. He recited the long list of his sorry woes. I asked him if he wanted a cookie. He looked as if to ascertain whether not I was being sarcastic and making fun of him and I pointed to a batch of chocolate cookies fresh out of the oven. As he ate his cookie, he said, “I feel better now”. I felt a sense of accomplishment. While I really love cooking, I’m a social person, and spending a day drudging in my little dungeon of a kitchen (and it is a windowless dungeon) tends to take on the tedious if there is no people interaction. One of the joys of cooking is knowing who you’re cooking for and knowing not only that they like the food but that they appreciate it. The real job satisfaction in cooking for frat boys is not in making a perfectly executed gourmet feast, but in making a meal that you know will be well appreciated and even comforting. After all, no matter how well you cook, if it’s for a nameless, faceless horde it’s somewhat like that old joke about the priest. You know, the one where he skips Sunday mass to play golf and makes a hole in one, but can’t tell anyone. Well it would be kind of like that, what is success without sharing it?
I made a success this weekend. My hubby had a few friends over to drink and kill zombies. (If the zombie apocalypse ever comes, I feel safe knowing my husband has had so much training in fighting off the zombie hordes). When I asked him what he wanted me to make to feed the zombie-killing battalion, he said he wanted, “those little orange chickens”. In other words, orange and rosemary roasted Cornish game hens with orange and white wine pan sauce. Hey, a zombie-killer has to eat right? I adapted this recipe from a few that I found online. While it sounds super fancy and looks impressive to guests, it honestly isn’t that difficult. It isn’t even much more expensive than making roast chicken, which is in fact a rather cheap meal. I think it looks so fancy because each person gets their own little chicken, and who doesn’t love individual-sized chickens. I’m going to caution you now, if you make this recipe, do not, under any circumstances substitute lemons for the oranges. I tried this once figuring that people eat lemon chicken all the time. The chicken turned out fine, but the sauce was just plain nasty. Just say no to anything but orange.
Orange and Rosemary Roasted Cornish Game Hens
Serves 4
4 Cornish Game Hens, 1 lb each
4 tbs Butter, softened
Salt and Pepper
½ an Orange, cut into 4 wedges
Several Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary, cut to about 3 inches long
1/2 cup White Wine
1 cup Orange Juice
1 1/4 cup Chicken Stock
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with the oven rack placed in the middle of the oven. Rinse and dry the game hens; carefully tucking their wings back (so they don’t burn). Rub a ½ tablespoon of butter all over each hen then salt and pepper the hen all over including in the cavity. Stuff each cavity with an orange slice and a few sprigs of rosemary and then arrange the birds breast side up in a shallow roasting pan. Roast for 10 minutes then using a tongs, gently move the birds a little to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Roast another 10-15 minutes or until the birds are done. Remove the birds to a plate and cover lightly with foil. If your roasting pan cannot be used on stove top, scrape as much of the juice and chicken morsels from the bottom of the pan into a sauce pan, otherwise put the roasting pan on the stove and turn the heat to high. Add the wine and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen all of the little morsels. Allow the wine to boil until its volume has reduced by half then add the orange juice. Allow the mixture to simmer again until its volume has reduced by half and then stir in the chicken stock. Allow the chicken stock mixture to simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Serve with the roasted game hens.
Lunch: Grilled Cheese and Soup
Dinner: Chili Mac, Veggies and Dinner Rolls
I’ve noticed that the guys have started straying into my kitchen more and more. While I don’t like people messing with my kitchen arrangement, I do love having someone to talk to. My brother is in Tennessee doing a co-op, and I’ve really missed having my baby brother there to talk to and make fun of. I kind of like playing the big sister part to the guys that make a point to come in and chat with me. One of the guys came in all lugubrious and was having a bad day. He recited the long list of his sorry woes. I asked him if he wanted a cookie. He looked as if to ascertain whether not I was being sarcastic and making fun of him and I pointed to a batch of chocolate cookies fresh out of the oven. As he ate his cookie, he said, “I feel better now”. I felt a sense of accomplishment. While I really love cooking, I’m a social person, and spending a day drudging in my little dungeon of a kitchen (and it is a windowless dungeon) tends to take on the tedious if there is no people interaction. One of the joys of cooking is knowing who you’re cooking for and knowing not only that they like the food but that they appreciate it. The real job satisfaction in cooking for frat boys is not in making a perfectly executed gourmet feast, but in making a meal that you know will be well appreciated and even comforting. After all, no matter how well you cook, if it’s for a nameless, faceless horde it’s somewhat like that old joke about the priest. You know, the one where he skips Sunday mass to play golf and makes a hole in one, but can’t tell anyone. Well it would be kind of like that, what is success without sharing it?
I made a success this weekend. My hubby had a few friends over to drink and kill zombies. (If the zombie apocalypse ever comes, I feel safe knowing my husband has had so much training in fighting off the zombie hordes). When I asked him what he wanted me to make to feed the zombie-killing battalion, he said he wanted, “those little orange chickens”. In other words, orange and rosemary roasted Cornish game hens with orange and white wine pan sauce. Hey, a zombie-killer has to eat right? I adapted this recipe from a few that I found online. While it sounds super fancy and looks impressive to guests, it honestly isn’t that difficult. It isn’t even much more expensive than making roast chicken, which is in fact a rather cheap meal. I think it looks so fancy because each person gets their own little chicken, and who doesn’t love individual-sized chickens. I’m going to caution you now, if you make this recipe, do not, under any circumstances substitute lemons for the oranges. I tried this once figuring that people eat lemon chicken all the time. The chicken turned out fine, but the sauce was just plain nasty. Just say no to anything but orange.
Orange and Rosemary Roasted Cornish Game Hens
Serves 4
4 Cornish Game Hens, 1 lb each
4 tbs Butter, softened
Salt and Pepper
½ an Orange, cut into 4 wedges
Several Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary, cut to about 3 inches long
1/2 cup White Wine
1 cup Orange Juice
1 1/4 cup Chicken Stock
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with the oven rack placed in the middle of the oven. Rinse and dry the game hens; carefully tucking their wings back (so they don’t burn). Rub a ½ tablespoon of butter all over each hen then salt and pepper the hen all over including in the cavity. Stuff each cavity with an orange slice and a few sprigs of rosemary and then arrange the birds breast side up in a shallow roasting pan. Roast for 10 minutes then using a tongs, gently move the birds a little to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Roast another 10-15 minutes or until the birds are done. Remove the birds to a plate and cover lightly with foil. If your roasting pan cannot be used on stove top, scrape as much of the juice and chicken morsels from the bottom of the pan into a sauce pan, otherwise put the roasting pan on the stove and turn the heat to high. Add the wine and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen all of the little morsels. Allow the wine to boil until its volume has reduced by half then add the orange juice. Allow the mixture to simmer again until its volume has reduced by half and then stir in the chicken stock. Allow the chicken stock mixture to simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Serve with the roasted game hens.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Beware of Chef
Lunch: BLT’s and French Fries
Dinner: Oven-baked Chicken Strips, Butter and Herb Boiled Potatoes and Corn
The kitchen has been infiltrated, repeat: the kitchen has been infiltrated! I don’t know if I’ve ever explained that I’m really a one person per kitchen kind of gal. When I’m cooking, I don’t really like people getting in my way or making unnecessary comments about how they think things should be done (“backseat driving” I call it). Oh, I don’t mind people coming and chatting, and on occasion I can even cook with other people (so long as we all have designated jobs and space). But when they invade the kitchen unwanted and unannounced, it drives me batty. It’s like someone coming in to your office, plunking their butt down at your computer and playing games when you’re in the middle of trying to finish a project on deadline. Ok, that might be a little extreme, but that’s what it feels like. One of the brothers came in just after I served lunch and started making his lunch. Ok, usually I don’t mind that. Then his girlfriend came in and they turned the radio on loud. Ok… getting a little annoyed. Then they started using the dishes I laid out. He was cutting raw meat on the cutting board I laid out for cutting the vegetables with the knife I’d laid out, and they were moving around all the spices I’d laid out. Ok… I’m really really annoyed now. Just as he was finishing, another brother came in and made eggs and left a huge eggy mess all over my clean work surface, and if that weren’t bad enough the steward came in with no other design than to bother me. That’s it, I have to leave the kitchen or people will get hurt!
I can’t help it, I’m territorial. I have my kitchen just so, and I have it that way for a reason. When cooking for a large group you have to have a game plan (and contingency plans for when you find some little “mousy” has gone and eaten all of the cheese you put aside). You can’t just go into the kitchen and see what you can find and start throwing things together because things won’t turn out. Before I start cooking, I get out everything I’m going to need, ingredients, pots, pans, knives etc. I lay them all out so A. I know I have them and B. So I’m not scrambling for an ingredient while I’m in the middle of trying to keep my roux from burning and C. So everything will be done when I need it to be done. Plus, I have limited resources. I only have 1 large cutting board and 2 really sharp knives. So, I have to plan carefully to avoid contamination etc. My path to kitchen enlightenment is organization. (Remember my dream kitchen? That’s kitchen nirvana). When someone goes and messes with it, it can throw me off. I have to stop and redo everything, wash the cutting board, wipe down the counters and realign my ingredients. People who know me may find this rather strange. I am not what you might call a “neat” person nor am I particularly organized. I am not a type A personality, at least not until you cross the threshold of my kitchen. Then… well perhaps the guys should get a sign “Beware of Chef, Enter at Your Own Risk".
For a quick and delicious lunch, try these chicken melts… they have a kick. They guys loved them.
Spicy Chicken Melts
Serves 12
24 slices Toast, good with whole wheat or 7 grain bread
5 cups Canned Chicken
3 tbs Hot Sauce (more or less depending on how hot you like it)
2 cups Miracle Whip
1/3 cup Sweet Pickle Relish
3 tbs Dijon Mustard
¼ cup Red Onion, diced fine
½ cup Celery, diced fine
A couple pinches of Cayenne Pepper, if you dare
Tomatoes, sliced
12 slices Provolone Cheese
Mix together chicken, celery, red onion, hot sauce, sweet pickle relish, Miracle Whip, and Dijon mustard until well mixed. Arrange ½ of the toast on a baking sheet and top with a generous scoop of chicken mixture. Top with tomato slices and cheese. Place pan under a hot broiler until cheese is just melted, 3-5 minutes. Top with the rest of the toast and serve immediately.
Dinner: Oven-baked Chicken Strips, Butter and Herb Boiled Potatoes and Corn
The kitchen has been infiltrated, repeat: the kitchen has been infiltrated! I don’t know if I’ve ever explained that I’m really a one person per kitchen kind of gal. When I’m cooking, I don’t really like people getting in my way or making unnecessary comments about how they think things should be done (“backseat driving” I call it). Oh, I don’t mind people coming and chatting, and on occasion I can even cook with other people (so long as we all have designated jobs and space). But when they invade the kitchen unwanted and unannounced, it drives me batty. It’s like someone coming in to your office, plunking their butt down at your computer and playing games when you’re in the middle of trying to finish a project on deadline. Ok, that might be a little extreme, but that’s what it feels like. One of the brothers came in just after I served lunch and started making his lunch. Ok, usually I don’t mind that. Then his girlfriend came in and they turned the radio on loud. Ok… getting a little annoyed. Then they started using the dishes I laid out. He was cutting raw meat on the cutting board I laid out for cutting the vegetables with the knife I’d laid out, and they were moving around all the spices I’d laid out. Ok… I’m really really annoyed now. Just as he was finishing, another brother came in and made eggs and left a huge eggy mess all over my clean work surface, and if that weren’t bad enough the steward came in with no other design than to bother me. That’s it, I have to leave the kitchen or people will get hurt!
I can’t help it, I’m territorial. I have my kitchen just so, and I have it that way for a reason. When cooking for a large group you have to have a game plan (and contingency plans for when you find some little “mousy” has gone and eaten all of the cheese you put aside). You can’t just go into the kitchen and see what you can find and start throwing things together because things won’t turn out. Before I start cooking, I get out everything I’m going to need, ingredients, pots, pans, knives etc. I lay them all out so A. I know I have them and B. So I’m not scrambling for an ingredient while I’m in the middle of trying to keep my roux from burning and C. So everything will be done when I need it to be done. Plus, I have limited resources. I only have 1 large cutting board and 2 really sharp knives. So, I have to plan carefully to avoid contamination etc. My path to kitchen enlightenment is organization. (Remember my dream kitchen? That’s kitchen nirvana). When someone goes and messes with it, it can throw me off. I have to stop and redo everything, wash the cutting board, wipe down the counters and realign my ingredients. People who know me may find this rather strange. I am not what you might call a “neat” person nor am I particularly organized. I am not a type A personality, at least not until you cross the threshold of my kitchen. Then… well perhaps the guys should get a sign “Beware of Chef, Enter at Your Own Risk".
For a quick and delicious lunch, try these chicken melts… they have a kick. They guys loved them.
Spicy Chicken Melts
Serves 12
24 slices Toast, good with whole wheat or 7 grain bread
5 cups Canned Chicken
3 tbs Hot Sauce (more or less depending on how hot you like it)
2 cups Miracle Whip
1/3 cup Sweet Pickle Relish
3 tbs Dijon Mustard
¼ cup Red Onion, diced fine
½ cup Celery, diced fine
A couple pinches of Cayenne Pepper, if you dare
Tomatoes, sliced
12 slices Provolone Cheese
Mix together chicken, celery, red onion, hot sauce, sweet pickle relish, Miracle Whip, and Dijon mustard until well mixed. Arrange ½ of the toast on a baking sheet and top with a generous scoop of chicken mixture. Top with tomato slices and cheese. Place pan under a hot broiler until cheese is just melted, 3-5 minutes. Top with the rest of the toast and serve immediately.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Generally Gloomy
Lunch: Sloppy Joes, French Fries and Apples and Oranges
Dinner: Russian Chicken, Buttered Noodles and Peas
It’s cold and raining again. It has been dark and dreary all day; I suppose it could be worse, I could live up North where they’re getting dumped on with snow. It’s hard to remember 20 inches in a night. I vaguely remember blizzards. I do remember getting stuck at a friend’s house after a surprise snow storm and having to stand at outside at the bottom of the hill waiting for my dad to come and rescue me. I can also remember the blisters on my hands after having to dig out the driveway. Snow is deceptively heavy. While part of me has snow day envy and misses sledding and snowball fights. I do not envy freezing cold blizzards that knock out power and prevent you from going anywhere. I also would not like to imagine trying to catch the bus in blowing snow. I’ve had to do that before… it’s not fun. Snow is also deceptively sharp.
Speaking of the bus, there seems to be a rise of Chatty Cathy’s lately. I was sitting in front of a woman this morning who was chatting loudly on her cell phone. She was describing in great detail her recent weight gain and botched perm. I couldn’t help it, I had to sneak a peek at her. She did rather resemble a chubby poodle which makes me feel bad for thinking. But, I never would have even noticed her if she hadn’t practically announced it to everyone. Currently the person behind me is having an in-depth conversation on the phone about horses. I really don’t want to listen in. I’m wearing headphones and am listening to some Norah Jones (fitting for such a rainy day), but I can still hear here over the music. I did see someone riding a horse through the center of town one night on their cell phone. It was quite possibly one of the most bizarre things I’d ever seen.
Because I’ve already given you guys my recipes for sloppy joes and Russian chicken, I thought I might share a recipe that Tyler and I made last night. It’s for a less fattening General Tso’s Chicken. General Tso’s chicken is one of my favorite Chinese food dishes. But the deep fried chicken bits in a sugar-filled sauce are simply not on the diet plan. Tyler also loves Chinese food, so we made this and he loved it. The chicken is crisp and the sauce is sweet and spicy and it really does satisfy a craving for the real General’s chicken. Tyler even liked the snow peas.
General Tso’s Chicken
Serves 4
¼ cup Cornstarch
½ lb Snow Peas
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Ginger
3 tbs Brown Sugar
2 tbs Soy Sauce
½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 Egg Whites
Salt and Pepper
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbs Vegetable Oil
½ cup Water
In a bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and ½ Water; add in snow peas, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, soy sauce and Snow Peas.
In another bowl, combine remaining 3 tbs of cornstarch, egg whites, salt and pepper. Coat chicken in mixture. In a large skillet heat 1 tbs of oil over med-high heat. Add half of chicken mixture to the skillet and cook until golden brown and set aside on a plate. Repeat with remaining oil and chicken and set aside when cooked through. Add snow pea mixture and cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens. Add chicken and stir to coat. Serve over brown rice.
Note: Tyler likes veggies so crisp they’re practically raw. If you would like yours a little softer, after you dump the sauce and snow peas in the pan, you may want to cover it and allow it to cook a little longer.
Dinner: Russian Chicken, Buttered Noodles and Peas
It’s cold and raining again. It has been dark and dreary all day; I suppose it could be worse, I could live up North where they’re getting dumped on with snow. It’s hard to remember 20 inches in a night. I vaguely remember blizzards. I do remember getting stuck at a friend’s house after a surprise snow storm and having to stand at outside at the bottom of the hill waiting for my dad to come and rescue me. I can also remember the blisters on my hands after having to dig out the driveway. Snow is deceptively heavy. While part of me has snow day envy and misses sledding and snowball fights. I do not envy freezing cold blizzards that knock out power and prevent you from going anywhere. I also would not like to imagine trying to catch the bus in blowing snow. I’ve had to do that before… it’s not fun. Snow is also deceptively sharp.
Speaking of the bus, there seems to be a rise of Chatty Cathy’s lately. I was sitting in front of a woman this morning who was chatting loudly on her cell phone. She was describing in great detail her recent weight gain and botched perm. I couldn’t help it, I had to sneak a peek at her. She did rather resemble a chubby poodle which makes me feel bad for thinking. But, I never would have even noticed her if she hadn’t practically announced it to everyone. Currently the person behind me is having an in-depth conversation on the phone about horses. I really don’t want to listen in. I’m wearing headphones and am listening to some Norah Jones (fitting for such a rainy day), but I can still hear here over the music. I did see someone riding a horse through the center of town one night on their cell phone. It was quite possibly one of the most bizarre things I’d ever seen.
Because I’ve already given you guys my recipes for sloppy joes and Russian chicken, I thought I might share a recipe that Tyler and I made last night. It’s for a less fattening General Tso’s Chicken. General Tso’s chicken is one of my favorite Chinese food dishes. But the deep fried chicken bits in a sugar-filled sauce are simply not on the diet plan. Tyler also loves Chinese food, so we made this and he loved it. The chicken is crisp and the sauce is sweet and spicy and it really does satisfy a craving for the real General’s chicken. Tyler even liked the snow peas.
General Tso’s Chicken
Serves 4
¼ cup Cornstarch
½ lb Snow Peas
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Ginger
3 tbs Brown Sugar
2 tbs Soy Sauce
½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 Egg Whites
Salt and Pepper
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbs Vegetable Oil
½ cup Water
In a bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and ½ Water; add in snow peas, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, soy sauce and Snow Peas.
In another bowl, combine remaining 3 tbs of cornstarch, egg whites, salt and pepper. Coat chicken in mixture. In a large skillet heat 1 tbs of oil over med-high heat. Add half of chicken mixture to the skillet and cook until golden brown and set aside on a plate. Repeat with remaining oil and chicken and set aside when cooked through. Add snow pea mixture and cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens. Add chicken and stir to coat. Serve over brown rice.
Note: Tyler likes veggies so crisp they’re practically raw. If you would like yours a little softer, after you dump the sauce and snow peas in the pan, you may want to cover it and allow it to cook a little longer.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Stupid Picky Fart Boys
Lunch: BBQ Lil’ Smokies and French Fries
Dinner: Chicken and Sausage Paella and Rolls
Despite the gloomy, rainy weather, today doesn’t seem as bad as yesterday. But then again, I still have half the day. The rain even held off long enough for me to take my walk today. Hooray me for continuing with my goal! I also got to wear my adorable rain boots, although I probably looked rather silly this morning wearing yoga pants and rain boots. Eh, I really don’t care. I had a teacher in high school who always wore white knee socks, white sneakers and floaty skirts. I also had a teacher in college who wore bells all the time and smelled like patchouli oil, but we won’t talk about her because it upsets me.
So, I struck out with the Italian meatball soup. Apparently the veggie to meat ratio was just too high… Argh! I’m fairly sure there is no secret combination. I doubled the meat! Sigh… there simply is no pleasing frat boys. (Please note, when I first typed this, I accidently put fart boys, which I believe should work interchangeably) Tonight I’m making chicken paella, similar to the one I made for Tyler’s birthday (see recipe here: Chicken_and_Shrimp_Paella ) except I’m exchanging sausage for the shrimp. Sadly, Spanish Chorizo is difficult to find and rather expensive, so I had to sub some spicy Italian sausage. Please note: Spanish Chorizo is very different from Mexican Chorizo, which is rather widely available at grocery stores in the South. Spanish or Portuguese Chorizo is a deep red-colored smoked sausage in a casing. Mexican chorizo is uncooked and usually sold bulk or not in a casing. The two are not interchangeable. If you live in the Atlanta area, the DeKalb farmers market sometimes carries a good Spanish Chorizo (made in house) that is not terribly expensive. I would have gone there (they have really cheap fresh fruits and veggies!) but they are far away and rather a pain to get to. I’m all about getting my butt home on grocery day.
Paella is one of those weird dishes that seem a lot easier to make in bulk than in family portions. This concept is still new to me. When I made it for Tyler, I was in the kitchen for well over an hour when a typical meal for us only takes 30 minutes. Making dinner for the guys can take anywhere from 2-4 hours depending. If you were to count the things that I prep in advance (such as veggie dicing or marinating) or stuff that I start cooking when I start breakfast (barbecue ribs) then we’re looking at even longer. The thing is, dishes that are a snap to whip up at home (chicken and dumplings take 30 minutes at home) can take a surprisingly long time to make in bulk (3 hours). Then in reverse, the paella will only take me 2 hours… It doesn’t always work that way. For example, beef stew takes a long time either way. Of course, I am cheating a bit with the paella for the guys. Rather than sauté the chicken and sausage on the stove top, it’s cooking in the oven. I wouldn’t recommend doing your chicken in the oven at home because it would take less time for you to sauté it and it will come out better, but the frat has a large convection oven that cooks the chicken faster and at a lower temp which keeps it from drying out. I am also using frozen onion and pepper slices. Hey, bell peppers are out of season, expensive, and time- consuming to chop. I can buy them frozen and they’re already cut into perfect strips (hooray for no onion hands!). I’m fairly sure the guys will like this because it is basically just meat and rice with only the tiniest hint of veggies (a smattering of peppers and onions and a handful of frozen peas). Of course, I’ve been wrong before.
Chicken and Dumplings
Serves 24
10.5 cups Milk
7 cups Frozen Mixed Veggies (the kind with carrots, green beans, corn and peas)
2 large Onions, chopped
1 head Garlic, minced
7 pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
8 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
Olive Oil
7 cups Bisquick
2 1/3 cups Milk
1 tbs Garlic Powder
In a large dutch oven, drizzle several tablespoons of oil and heat over medium high. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender and transparent. Remove onions and garlic and add in chicken (you may need to add more oil). Season chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Brown over medium-high heat until cooked through. Add in 10.5 cups of milk, frozen veggies, cream of chicken soup and onions and garlic, combine thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture up to a boil, stirring continuously. Lower to a simmer (you want small bubbles breaking on the surface continuously, but not at a boil). Combine remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl to form a soft dough. Drop mixture by the tablespoonful onto the chicken. Try not to drop the mixture into the liquid otherwise the dough will not cook properly and will stay doughy. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Cover and cook until the dough steams and becomes more biscuit like and is no longer dough (can take between 15-30 minutes, check every 5 minutes after the first 10 minutes).
Dinner: Chicken and Sausage Paella and Rolls
Despite the gloomy, rainy weather, today doesn’t seem as bad as yesterday. But then again, I still have half the day. The rain even held off long enough for me to take my walk today. Hooray me for continuing with my goal! I also got to wear my adorable rain boots, although I probably looked rather silly this morning wearing yoga pants and rain boots. Eh, I really don’t care. I had a teacher in high school who always wore white knee socks, white sneakers and floaty skirts. I also had a teacher in college who wore bells all the time and smelled like patchouli oil, but we won’t talk about her because it upsets me.
So, I struck out with the Italian meatball soup. Apparently the veggie to meat ratio was just too high… Argh! I’m fairly sure there is no secret combination. I doubled the meat! Sigh… there simply is no pleasing frat boys. (Please note, when I first typed this, I accidently put fart boys, which I believe should work interchangeably) Tonight I’m making chicken paella, similar to the one I made for Tyler’s birthday (see recipe here: Chicken_and_Shrimp_Paella ) except I’m exchanging sausage for the shrimp. Sadly, Spanish Chorizo is difficult to find and rather expensive, so I had to sub some spicy Italian sausage. Please note: Spanish Chorizo is very different from Mexican Chorizo, which is rather widely available at grocery stores in the South. Spanish or Portuguese Chorizo is a deep red-colored smoked sausage in a casing. Mexican chorizo is uncooked and usually sold bulk or not in a casing. The two are not interchangeable. If you live in the Atlanta area, the DeKalb farmers market sometimes carries a good Spanish Chorizo (made in house) that is not terribly expensive. I would have gone there (they have really cheap fresh fruits and veggies!) but they are far away and rather a pain to get to. I’m all about getting my butt home on grocery day.
Paella is one of those weird dishes that seem a lot easier to make in bulk than in family portions. This concept is still new to me. When I made it for Tyler, I was in the kitchen for well over an hour when a typical meal for us only takes 30 minutes. Making dinner for the guys can take anywhere from 2-4 hours depending. If you were to count the things that I prep in advance (such as veggie dicing or marinating) or stuff that I start cooking when I start breakfast (barbecue ribs) then we’re looking at even longer. The thing is, dishes that are a snap to whip up at home (chicken and dumplings take 30 minutes at home) can take a surprisingly long time to make in bulk (3 hours). Then in reverse, the paella will only take me 2 hours… It doesn’t always work that way. For example, beef stew takes a long time either way. Of course, I am cheating a bit with the paella for the guys. Rather than sauté the chicken and sausage on the stove top, it’s cooking in the oven. I wouldn’t recommend doing your chicken in the oven at home because it would take less time for you to sauté it and it will come out better, but the frat has a large convection oven that cooks the chicken faster and at a lower temp which keeps it from drying out. I am also using frozen onion and pepper slices. Hey, bell peppers are out of season, expensive, and time- consuming to chop. I can buy them frozen and they’re already cut into perfect strips (hooray for no onion hands!). I’m fairly sure the guys will like this because it is basically just meat and rice with only the tiniest hint of veggies (a smattering of peppers and onions and a handful of frozen peas). Of course, I’ve been wrong before.
Chicken and Dumplings
Serves 24
10.5 cups Milk
7 cups Frozen Mixed Veggies (the kind with carrots, green beans, corn and peas)
2 large Onions, chopped
1 head Garlic, minced
7 pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
8 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
Olive Oil
7 cups Bisquick
2 1/3 cups Milk
1 tbs Garlic Powder
In a large dutch oven, drizzle several tablespoons of oil and heat over medium high. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender and transparent. Remove onions and garlic and add in chicken (you may need to add more oil). Season chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Brown over medium-high heat until cooked through. Add in 10.5 cups of milk, frozen veggies, cream of chicken soup and onions and garlic, combine thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture up to a boil, stirring continuously. Lower to a simmer (you want small bubbles breaking on the surface continuously, but not at a boil). Combine remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl to form a soft dough. Drop mixture by the tablespoonful onto the chicken. Try not to drop the mixture into the liquid otherwise the dough will not cook properly and will stay doughy. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Cover and cook until the dough steams and becomes more biscuit like and is no longer dough (can take between 15-30 minutes, check every 5 minutes after the first 10 minutes).
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tough Cookies Kid
It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does it is truly a sight to behold. That is, I’m generally a softy, a push-over, but get me angry and I can shoot with the big boys. Well, they’ve got me angry and all I can say is watch out. So this week will be all about tough love… or maybe tough shit (sorry, I warned you…). After all the problems at the lodge, after all the meetings, e-mails and discussions, they still screwed it up. Friday, there was much gnashing of teeth. I managed to keep my cool, I didn’t hurt anyone. But I think that was mainly because the problem causers stayed well clear of me, and we communicated via phone. I gave them fair warning. I let them know that they are walking a fine line with me and if they cross it again, it won’t be pretty. Well this week, it won’t be pretty.
I bet you can guess what happened. Yup, they failed yet again to get me the information. When they didn’t answer their phones Friday morning, I let a couple of the brothers know that the next week they would be having peanut butter and ramen because a. they didn’t get me the check to pay for groceries and b. they hadn’t told me who was eating. Unsurprisingly, the offenders were found in rather short order and made to give me the information I needed. I went grocery shopping, and it should have ended there. Then I went and checked my e-mail, and lo and behold… the numbers they gave me were wrong. Oops. Did I run out and get more groceries to cover for the mistake. Nope. I sent a very nice e-mail back saying tough shit (there I go again, ok, I didn’t really say tough shit, but it was certainly implied). I let them know I got groceries already and if there are any short comings during the week, they needed to let the brothers know why. I also let them know that their math skills were seriously wanting. I was a French major, and I abhor math. Yet, I still knew that neither set of numbers they gave me added up. (I know how many brothers are on the meal plan, and if the number of people eating is greater or less than the number of brothers on the plan… there’s a problem with the math). Hey they had their warning, I can be my father’s daughter when need strikes. Just ask me how I got out of paying a few for overweight luggage on my way home from France J (even more interesting, ask me how I got my luggage through the metro when it actually weighed more than I did).
I promised a recipe for buffalo chicken pot pie…
It’s in family size because you need to make individual pans otherwise the topping doesn’t turn out… which would be a very sad day.
Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie
Serves 6
2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cooked and diced (you can use canned if you like, but chicken breast is better)
1 medium Onion, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
2-3 stalks Celery, chopped
6 cloves Garlic, finely minced
¼ cup Butter
¼ cup Flour
½ cup Buffalo Sauce (I recommend getting the hot variety as it is diluted in the sauce)
2 cups Chicken Broth
Salt and Pepper
½ cup Cheddar Cheese or Blue Cheese Crumbles (I don’t like Blue Cheese, so it’s up to you)
2 cups Bisquick mix
1 cup Milk
2 Eggs
Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 375. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Sauté until tender 5-6 minutes. In sauce pan, melt butter. Whisk in flour, and continue whisking 1 minute to cook flour. Add in buffalo sauce, chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil then lower temp and simmer 3 or so minutes until thickened. Add chicken and veggies to the sauce, and pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.
In a mixing bowl, mix together bisquick, cheese, egg and milk until well combined. Pour over chicken and vegetables, covering completely (mixture will be runny, don’t worry). Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until biscuit topping is golden brown and cooked through. (If you stick a knife in the middle of the biscuit crust, it should come out without any white batter on it.)
I bet you can guess what happened. Yup, they failed yet again to get me the information. When they didn’t answer their phones Friday morning, I let a couple of the brothers know that the next week they would be having peanut butter and ramen because a. they didn’t get me the check to pay for groceries and b. they hadn’t told me who was eating. Unsurprisingly, the offenders were found in rather short order and made to give me the information I needed. I went grocery shopping, and it should have ended there. Then I went and checked my e-mail, and lo and behold… the numbers they gave me were wrong. Oops. Did I run out and get more groceries to cover for the mistake. Nope. I sent a very nice e-mail back saying tough shit (there I go again, ok, I didn’t really say tough shit, but it was certainly implied). I let them know I got groceries already and if there are any short comings during the week, they needed to let the brothers know why. I also let them know that their math skills were seriously wanting. I was a French major, and I abhor math. Yet, I still knew that neither set of numbers they gave me added up. (I know how many brothers are on the meal plan, and if the number of people eating is greater or less than the number of brothers on the plan… there’s a problem with the math). Hey they had their warning, I can be my father’s daughter when need strikes. Just ask me how I got out of paying a few for overweight luggage on my way home from France J (even more interesting, ask me how I got my luggage through the metro when it actually weighed more than I did).
I promised a recipe for buffalo chicken pot pie…
It’s in family size because you need to make individual pans otherwise the topping doesn’t turn out… which would be a very sad day.
Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie
Serves 6
2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cooked and diced (you can use canned if you like, but chicken breast is better)
1 medium Onion, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
2-3 stalks Celery, chopped
6 cloves Garlic, finely minced
¼ cup Butter
¼ cup Flour
½ cup Buffalo Sauce (I recommend getting the hot variety as it is diluted in the sauce)
2 cups Chicken Broth
Salt and Pepper
½ cup Cheddar Cheese or Blue Cheese Crumbles (I don’t like Blue Cheese, so it’s up to you)
2 cups Bisquick mix
1 cup Milk
2 Eggs
Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 375. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Sauté until tender 5-6 minutes. In sauce pan, melt butter. Whisk in flour, and continue whisking 1 minute to cook flour. Add in buffalo sauce, chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil then lower temp and simmer 3 or so minutes until thickened. Add chicken and veggies to the sauce, and pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.
In a mixing bowl, mix together bisquick, cheese, egg and milk until well combined. Pour over chicken and vegetables, covering completely (mixture will be runny, don’t worry). Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until biscuit topping is golden brown and cooked through. (If you stick a knife in the middle of the biscuit crust, it should come out without any white batter on it.)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Super Fabulous Lasagna Recipe
Here it is, my fabulous lasagna recipe:
Kristen’s Greek Lasagna
Serves 8
1 pkg Lasagna Noodles
1.5 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, marinated in Greek marinade
1 lg can Crushed Tomatoes
1 15 oz can Tomato Sauce
1 15 oz can Tomato Paste
1 sm Eggplant, peeled and diced
2 Portobello Mushroom Caps, sliced
1 sm Onion, chopped
4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tsp Dried Oregano
2 cups Ricotta Cheese
½ cup Feta, crumbled
3 cups Mozzarella, divided
1 Egg, beaten
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil the lasagna noodles until just al dente. Sauté chicken over medium-high heat in a non-stick pan (no oil or spray) until cooked through. Set chicken aside. Sauté onions and garlic over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until onions are just becoming translucent; add in eggplant. Sauté another 5 minutes or until eggplant becomes soft but not mushy. Add a little olive oil to the pan and brown the mushrooms, giving them plenty of space in the pan. When the mushrooms are browned remove them from the pan and dice them. In a large saucepan with a lid, combine crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion and eggplant mixture, diced mushrooms, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. When chicken is cooled, cut it into small bite-sized pieces (you don’t want large chunks of chicken or you lasagna will be lumpy. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, feta, egg and 1 cup of mozzarella.
Assemble lasagna in a 13x9 baking dish. Start with a little sauce on the bottom, top with noodles, completely cover sauce by overlapping the noodles slightly. Top the noodles with 1/3 of the cheese mixture, add ½ the remaining sauce and ½ the chicken. Top with noodles then cheese mixture, the remaining sauce and the remaining chicken. Top with one more layer of noodles, remaining cheese mixture and the reserved mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese on top is beginning to brown. (You may want to put a cookie sheet under your lasagna pan as some of the sauce might escape).
Serves 8
1 pkg Lasagna Noodles
1.5 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, marinated in Greek marinade
1 lg can Crushed Tomatoes
1 15 oz can Tomato Sauce
1 15 oz can Tomato Paste
1 sm Eggplant, peeled and diced
2 Portobello Mushroom Caps, sliced
1 sm Onion, chopped
4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tsp Dried Oregano
2 cups Ricotta Cheese
½ cup Feta, crumbled
3 cups Mozzarella, divided
1 Egg, beaten
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil the lasagna noodles until just al dente. Sauté chicken over medium-high heat in a non-stick pan (no oil or spray) until cooked through. Set chicken aside. Sauté onions and garlic over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until onions are just becoming translucent; add in eggplant. Sauté another 5 minutes or until eggplant becomes soft but not mushy. Add a little olive oil to the pan and brown the mushrooms, giving them plenty of space in the pan. When the mushrooms are browned remove them from the pan and dice them. In a large saucepan with a lid, combine crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion and eggplant mixture, diced mushrooms, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. When chicken is cooled, cut it into small bite-sized pieces (you don’t want large chunks of chicken or you lasagna will be lumpy. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, feta, egg and 1 cup of mozzarella.
Assemble lasagna in a 13x9 baking dish. Start with a little sauce on the bottom, top with noodles, completely cover sauce by overlapping the noodles slightly. Top the noodles with 1/3 of the cheese mixture, add ½ the remaining sauce and ½ the chicken. Top with noodles then cheese mixture, the remaining sauce and the remaining chicken. Top with one more layer of noodles, remaining cheese mixture and the reserved mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese on top is beginning to brown. (You may want to put a cookie sheet under your lasagna pan as some of the sauce might escape).
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Let Let Me Know What's Your Fantasy...
Wednesday Lunch: Chicken Gyros and Vegetables with Hummus Dinner: Brats, Baked Beans and Coleslaw
It’s entirely possible that I’ve lost my mind (what little of it was still considered sane). I get a bee up my… well… and decide to make something exotic or special. Tzatziki isn’t any easier to make than it is to spell. Why did I feel the need to make homemade tzatziki? (Probably because it can’t be purchased at the grocery store and it would be expensive to purchase it at my favorite Greek restaurant). Perhaps I’m merely miffed at the unappreciative audience that pokes at the bowl and says “what’s that” in a voice that suggests that I am, in fact, feeding them smashed worms. At least I didn’t make homemade hummus. Maybe I should feed them smashed worms… Except then I would have to get worms and smash them. In truth, the tzatziki turned out beautifully. I guess sometimes it’s hard for me to remember I’m feeding a bunch of college boys. They give me free range of the menu and the kitchen and sometimes I feel the need to act out my cooking fantasies because, let’s face it, Tyler isn’t about to eat that stuff at home. In case you’re wondering tzatziki is a cucumber-yogurt sauce that is put on top of gyros. At least the guys appreciated the gyros… The chicken would have been even better had it been grilled, but I already have to grill the brats today. And, I think I’ve mentioned before my utter detestation for that specific cooking appliance.
Cooking fantasies… it just seems wrong, but I do have cooking fantasies. I fantasize that I have a lovely, state-of-the-art kitchen filled with gleaming appliances and a cupboard full of pretty dishes to show off my masterpieces. Then the pantry… ahh the pantry. The pantry and the fridge are full of top-notch farm-fresh ingredients. The pantry (which is approximately the size of my current kitchen) looks like a cross between a specialty food store and a real farmers market. There is also an herb garden somewhere nearby which really is a fantasy as I have two brown thumbs. In the fridge there is crème fraiche, butter from a local dairy and unpasteurized cheese. (Ok… I might have separate dairy fantasies, so sue me!) Then the best part… the best part of all, I make whatever I want. I make all sorts of exotic and foreign dishes. From curry (both the Indian and the Thai varieties) to ratatouille. I might even make whole meals without meat (GASP!!!). I might just come up with something on the fly. Then, there are people there to eat my creations. People who love food and don’t say “Eww, what’s that?” or ask if I’m putting onions in something (in a dear God, please don’t put onions in that voice) or rip apart a carefully constructed dish to surgically remove all traces of mushrooms. They aren’t a bunch of sycophants though, they just aren’t picky and they’re adventurous and willing to try something new. Sigh… Somehow, unless I win the lottery, I doubt these fantasies will ever come true. (In case I do win the lottery, how much do you think it would cost to hire a bunch of foodies to come over for dinner every night? I would have to change the blog name to Adventures in Gourmet Cooking.)
Here is a delicious recipe for chicken gyros with homemade tzatziki:
Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki:
Serves 15
For the Chicken:
4 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 large Head of Garlic, peeled and smashed
1 small container of plain yogurt (the little container, like you would have for breakfast)
½ cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 cup Olive Oil
½ cup Lemon Juice
¼ cup Dried Oregano
3 tbs Parsley
Salt and Pepper
Mix ingredients together until well blended. Pour over chicken breast, cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight.
Heat non-stick skillet over medium high heat (no pam or olive oil please, we want to get a good sear on the chicken. If you use a non-stick skillet it should be just fine) Add the chicken and cook for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown on one side, then flip and continue cooking until golden brown and cooked through (if you’re chicken is golden brown and not done in the middle, you can throw it in the microwave for a couple minutes to finish it out without burning it). Allow chicken to rest 5 minutes after cooking. Cut lengthways into thin strips. Serve on warm pita bread with tomatoes, feta, red onions and tzatziki.
Note: This would be excellent grilled.
Tzatziki
1 large (16 ounces) container Plain Yogurt
-Or- 1 16 ounce container of Greek Yogurt (if using Greek yogurt, skip the straining step)
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 tbs Red Wine Vinegar
4 cloves Garlic, minced very fine
1 Seedless Cucumber, peeled
1 tbs Oregano
A large dash of Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper
To strain: line a colander with two heavy duty paper towels (or a few coffee filters or cheesecloth if you want to get fancy) pour yogurt over paper towels. Put the colander on top of a bowl. You want to use a bowl that is smaller than the colander so the bottom of the colander doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Cover the colander and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the bowl and colander, discard the liquid in the bowl and dump the yogurt into a mixing bowl. The yogurt should be considerably thicker.
Grate the peeled cucumber with a fine grater. You want it very small. You can use a food processor to shred it, and then run a knife through the shreds until it’s chopped fine. Squeeze the grated cucumber to remove some of the juice. Mix in with the yogurt. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Refrigerate for an hour; stir before serving.
It’s entirely possible that I’ve lost my mind (what little of it was still considered sane). I get a bee up my… well… and decide to make something exotic or special. Tzatziki isn’t any easier to make than it is to spell. Why did I feel the need to make homemade tzatziki? (Probably because it can’t be purchased at the grocery store and it would be expensive to purchase it at my favorite Greek restaurant). Perhaps I’m merely miffed at the unappreciative audience that pokes at the bowl and says “what’s that” in a voice that suggests that I am, in fact, feeding them smashed worms. At least I didn’t make homemade hummus. Maybe I should feed them smashed worms… Except then I would have to get worms and smash them. In truth, the tzatziki turned out beautifully. I guess sometimes it’s hard for me to remember I’m feeding a bunch of college boys. They give me free range of the menu and the kitchen and sometimes I feel the need to act out my cooking fantasies because, let’s face it, Tyler isn’t about to eat that stuff at home. In case you’re wondering tzatziki is a cucumber-yogurt sauce that is put on top of gyros. At least the guys appreciated the gyros… The chicken would have been even better had it been grilled, but I already have to grill the brats today. And, I think I’ve mentioned before my utter detestation for that specific cooking appliance.
Cooking fantasies… it just seems wrong, but I do have cooking fantasies. I fantasize that I have a lovely, state-of-the-art kitchen filled with gleaming appliances and a cupboard full of pretty dishes to show off my masterpieces. Then the pantry… ahh the pantry. The pantry and the fridge are full of top-notch farm-fresh ingredients. The pantry (which is approximately the size of my current kitchen) looks like a cross between a specialty food store and a real farmers market. There is also an herb garden somewhere nearby which really is a fantasy as I have two brown thumbs. In the fridge there is crème fraiche, butter from a local dairy and unpasteurized cheese. (Ok… I might have separate dairy fantasies, so sue me!) Then the best part… the best part of all, I make whatever I want. I make all sorts of exotic and foreign dishes. From curry (both the Indian and the Thai varieties) to ratatouille. I might even make whole meals without meat (GASP!!!). I might just come up with something on the fly. Then, there are people there to eat my creations. People who love food and don’t say “Eww, what’s that?” or ask if I’m putting onions in something (in a dear God, please don’t put onions in that voice) or rip apart a carefully constructed dish to surgically remove all traces of mushrooms. They aren’t a bunch of sycophants though, they just aren’t picky and they’re adventurous and willing to try something new. Sigh… Somehow, unless I win the lottery, I doubt these fantasies will ever come true. (In case I do win the lottery, how much do you think it would cost to hire a bunch of foodies to come over for dinner every night? I would have to change the blog name to Adventures in Gourmet Cooking.)
Here is a delicious recipe for chicken gyros with homemade tzatziki:
Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki:
Serves 15
For the Chicken:
4 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 large Head of Garlic, peeled and smashed
1 small container of plain yogurt (the little container, like you would have for breakfast)
½ cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 cup Olive Oil
½ cup Lemon Juice
¼ cup Dried Oregano
3 tbs Parsley
Salt and Pepper
Mix ingredients together until well blended. Pour over chicken breast, cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight.
Heat non-stick skillet over medium high heat (no pam or olive oil please, we want to get a good sear on the chicken. If you use a non-stick skillet it should be just fine) Add the chicken and cook for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown on one side, then flip and continue cooking until golden brown and cooked through (if you’re chicken is golden brown and not done in the middle, you can throw it in the microwave for a couple minutes to finish it out without burning it). Allow chicken to rest 5 minutes after cooking. Cut lengthways into thin strips. Serve on warm pita bread with tomatoes, feta, red onions and tzatziki.
Note: This would be excellent grilled.
Tzatziki
1 large (16 ounces) container Plain Yogurt
-Or- 1 16 ounce container of Greek Yogurt (if using Greek yogurt, skip the straining step)
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 tbs Red Wine Vinegar
4 cloves Garlic, minced very fine
1 Seedless Cucumber, peeled
1 tbs Oregano
A large dash of Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper
To strain: line a colander with two heavy duty paper towels (or a few coffee filters or cheesecloth if you want to get fancy) pour yogurt over paper towels. Put the colander on top of a bowl. You want to use a bowl that is smaller than the colander so the bottom of the colander doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Cover the colander and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the bowl and colander, discard the liquid in the bowl and dump the yogurt into a mixing bowl. The yogurt should be considerably thicker.
Grate the peeled cucumber with a fine grater. You want it very small. You can use a food processor to shred it, and then run a knife through the shreds until it’s chopped fine. Squeeze the grated cucumber to remove some of the juice. Mix in with the yogurt. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Refrigerate for an hour; stir before serving.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Oh where oh where did my waistline go? Oh where oh where could it be?
Somehow between living in the south, living with my husband and my love of everything sweet and chocolaty I seem to have gained a few pounds. As it is New Years and I need to make one of those pesky resolutions and all that, I’ve decided to try getting back into a healthier life style and lose a little weight. There is only one fool-proof method I’ve found for losing weight. The best part is you don’t even realize you’re doing it. There is no weighing, measuring, or any of that nonsense. It just happens like magic. I call it the “Living in France” diet. Yup, that’s it. You move to France, and magically the weight disappears. I lived there for one semester and lost 20 lbs. I didn’t diet; I didn’t give up alcohol or chocolate (or any of the other wonderful, sinfully delicious desserts that are found on every street corner in la belle France). Of course, I walked absolutely everywhere not only because I had to but because I could. Also, I found my true love there: the market. Every Saturday the center of town became a festival of food complete with street musicians and performers. I’d never seen so much fresh and varied produce all beautifully laid out like a painting. It was so different, so beautiful, so inviting. I simply had to try everything.
Sigh… I still shed a tear when I think of the fresh artichokes and the jam lady (mmm raspberry lavender jam! Ooo or pumpkin citrus marmalade). Sadly the France diet is a little out of reach. Getting a job there is next to impossible plus Tyler has no desire to move out of Georgia let alone out of the country.
It looks like I’m going to have to stick with the old fashioned method… diet and exercise. As Weight Watchers and gym memberships are really expensive, Tyler and I are going to have to go it on our own. We’ve purloined a couple Weight Watchers “Getting Started” books and are going to use those to help guide us. Indie, our dog, has also promised to help by being more insistent that we walk him every day (the lack of sidewalks and street lamps make walking him out here in the country a bit harder). So in the spirit of going healthy, here is a healthier main dish that I found that Tyler absolutely loves:
Bourbon Chicken
Serves 4
2 pounds Chicken Breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1-5 tbs Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced fine
¼ tsp Ginger
¾ tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
¼ cup Bourbon (or Apple Juice)
¼ cup Light Brown Sugar
2 tbs Ketchup
1 tbs Cider Vinegar
½ cup Water
1/3 cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add Chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove chicken and add remaining ingredients to skillet. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until well mixed and dissolved. Add chicken and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over brown rice.
Sigh… I still shed a tear when I think of the fresh artichokes and the jam lady (mmm raspberry lavender jam! Ooo or pumpkin citrus marmalade). Sadly the France diet is a little out of reach. Getting a job there is next to impossible plus Tyler has no desire to move out of Georgia let alone out of the country.
It looks like I’m going to have to stick with the old fashioned method… diet and exercise. As Weight Watchers and gym memberships are really expensive, Tyler and I are going to have to go it on our own. We’ve purloined a couple Weight Watchers “Getting Started” books and are going to use those to help guide us. Indie, our dog, has also promised to help by being more insistent that we walk him every day (the lack of sidewalks and street lamps make walking him out here in the country a bit harder). So in the spirit of going healthy, here is a healthier main dish that I found that Tyler absolutely loves:
Bourbon Chicken
Serves 4
2 pounds Chicken Breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1-5 tbs Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced fine
¼ tsp Ginger
¾ tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
¼ cup Bourbon (or Apple Juice)
¼ cup Light Brown Sugar
2 tbs Ketchup
1 tbs Cider Vinegar
½ cup Water
1/3 cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add Chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove chicken and add remaining ingredients to skillet. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until well mixed and dissolved. Add chicken and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over brown rice.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Ahoy Mateys! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year…
Ok, so I’ve been woefully negligent in posting of late. I apologize, but in my defense, it has been the holiday season and much of it was spent elsewhere (as in not at home, and in some cases, nowhere near an internet source). The holiday season is now (finally!) at a close and I start back to working and slaving the in frat house kitchen next Monday. This week will be spent trying to sort out the enormous pile of music my dad gave me (and the enormous pile of laundry that’s built up in our frequent jaunts out of town) as well as finishing up some minor last-minute before I get back to work things such as fixing my car, Dora. Since it’s a week for catch-up, I thought I might get you guys caught up to speed as well.
Christmas Eve we managed to lock ourselves out of the house, and had to go bother my landlord (who lives in the middle of nowhere). I prefer not to think about it. So, after we finally managed to get ourselves back inside. We packed our bags and left again for my parents’. Christmas Eve and Christmas were spent with my family. Which means the drinking began as soon as we got back from 6pm Christmas Eve Mass. It started up again with mimosas with breakfast, continued as all the in-laws arrived (my sister’s in-laws and my mother-in-law) and went on straight through dinner. Dinner was as marvelous as we all hoped it would be, and much meat was consumed. My mother-in-law stayed through the weekend until Sunday morning. In order to entertain we went to see Avatar at the IMAX, and the GPS stopped working on our way home as we were on a dark country road with no idea where we were at or how to get home. Luckily, we weren’t far from recognizable territory and made it home.
The week after Christmas was spent babysitting my nephews. I dearly love my nephews, and consider them quite the cutest things going. That being said, I’ve decided to never have kids. I know that Patrick was sick and that Alex… well Alex is two, but oh my golly goodness! I’m fairly sure if I ever have to do that again, I’ll have a nervous breakdown. Between poor Patrick screaming because he wouldn’t eat (and would not let me put him down, or even sit down while holding him) and Alex’s general 2-year-oldness (“No!” “I can’t!” “MY POOP!”), I was fairly sure I was going to lose it! I still love my nephews; I’m just not sure I want some that I have to take home with me…
New Years Eve was not the bacchanalian revel of the past. There was no bar-hopping, clubbing or drunken revelry as in the college days. It was more low-key. After a day babysitting my nephews, Tyler and I went out to dinner with our friend Lee (whose birthday is the 1st) and then we all returned to the house to play Rock band until midnight. We were in bed before 1am. Kind of pathetic, I know. To bring home the point of exactly how pathetic we were, our neighbors were having a loud raucous party. The middle-aged neighbors with kids… they rocked into the wee hours of the morning. Sigh…
The next day (the 1st) we celebrated my husband’s and my brother’s birthday at my parent’s. The theme was pirates. We all made our own pirate hats and eye-patches out of craft foam and string (my dad was the hammerhead shark/ butt pirate, sometimes it’s better not to ask). We played pirate dice ala Pirates of the Caribbean; pirate dice is one of my favorite games and it translates nicely into a drinking game (btw, don’t bother going out to buy the official game, all you need are a couple packages of extra dice, a few plastic cups and the rules which can be found online). There were also pirate-themed coloring pages, word finds, and such. Much fun was had by everyone, including my husband who was given many pirate-themed shots of rum by my father. Ahoy Matey!
Here is what I made for Tyler on his birthday yesterday:
Chicken and Shrimp Paella
Serves 6-8
¾ pound Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
¾ pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 small Onion, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips
1 Green Bell Pepper, Cut into strips
1 can Diced Tomatoes, drained
2 cans Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 ½ cup Long Grain Rice
1 tsp dried Oregano
½ tsp Tumeric
½ tsp Paprika
¼ tsp dried Thyme
1 can Diced Chile Peppers
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 Cup Frozen Peas
In a heavy, shallow sauté pan with a lid (or a paella pan) heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Lightly season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the oil and cook until just pink on both sides, about 4-5 minutes. Remove shrimp and set aside. Add chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Remove chicken and add in the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the chicken and the remaining ingredients (except for the shrimp and frozen peas) mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in peas and shrimp and cook for an extra minute.
Ok, so I’ve been woefully negligent in posting of late. I apologize, but in my defense, it has been the holiday season and much of it was spent elsewhere (as in not at home, and in some cases, nowhere near an internet source). The holiday season is now (finally!) at a close and I start back to working and slaving the in frat house kitchen next Monday. This week will be spent trying to sort out the enormous pile of music my dad gave me (and the enormous pile of laundry that’s built up in our frequent jaunts out of town) as well as finishing up some minor last-minute before I get back to work things such as fixing my car, Dora. Since it’s a week for catch-up, I thought I might get you guys caught up to speed as well.
Christmas Eve we managed to lock ourselves out of the house, and had to go bother my landlord (who lives in the middle of nowhere). I prefer not to think about it. So, after we finally managed to get ourselves back inside. We packed our bags and left again for my parents’. Christmas Eve and Christmas were spent with my family. Which means the drinking began as soon as we got back from 6pm Christmas Eve Mass. It started up again with mimosas with breakfast, continued as all the in-laws arrived (my sister’s in-laws and my mother-in-law) and went on straight through dinner. Dinner was as marvelous as we all hoped it would be, and much meat was consumed. My mother-in-law stayed through the weekend until Sunday morning. In order to entertain we went to see Avatar at the IMAX, and the GPS stopped working on our way home as we were on a dark country road with no idea where we were at or how to get home. Luckily, we weren’t far from recognizable territory and made it home.
The week after Christmas was spent babysitting my nephews. I dearly love my nephews, and consider them quite the cutest things going. That being said, I’ve decided to never have kids. I know that Patrick was sick and that Alex… well Alex is two, but oh my golly goodness! I’m fairly sure if I ever have to do that again, I’ll have a nervous breakdown. Between poor Patrick screaming because he wouldn’t eat (and would not let me put him down, or even sit down while holding him) and Alex’s general 2-year-oldness (“No!” “I can’t!” “MY POOP!”), I was fairly sure I was going to lose it! I still love my nephews; I’m just not sure I want some that I have to take home with me…
New Years Eve was not the bacchanalian revel of the past. There was no bar-hopping, clubbing or drunken revelry as in the college days. It was more low-key. After a day babysitting my nephews, Tyler and I went out to dinner with our friend Lee (whose birthday is the 1st) and then we all returned to the house to play Rock band until midnight. We were in bed before 1am. Kind of pathetic, I know. To bring home the point of exactly how pathetic we were, our neighbors were having a loud raucous party. The middle-aged neighbors with kids… they rocked into the wee hours of the morning. Sigh…
The next day (the 1st) we celebrated my husband’s and my brother’s birthday at my parent’s. The theme was pirates. We all made our own pirate hats and eye-patches out of craft foam and string (my dad was the hammerhead shark/ butt pirate, sometimes it’s better not to ask). We played pirate dice ala Pirates of the Caribbean; pirate dice is one of my favorite games and it translates nicely into a drinking game (btw, don’t bother going out to buy the official game, all you need are a couple packages of extra dice, a few plastic cups and the rules which can be found online). There were also pirate-themed coloring pages, word finds, and such. Much fun was had by everyone, including my husband who was given many pirate-themed shots of rum by my father. Ahoy Matey!
Here is what I made for Tyler on his birthday yesterday:
Chicken and Shrimp Paella
Serves 6-8
¾ pound Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
¾ pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 small Onion, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips
1 Green Bell Pepper, Cut into strips
1 can Diced Tomatoes, drained
2 cans Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 ½ cup Long Grain Rice
1 tsp dried Oregano
½ tsp Tumeric
½ tsp Paprika
¼ tsp dried Thyme
1 can Diced Chile Peppers
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 Cup Frozen Peas
In a heavy, shallow sauté pan with a lid (or a paella pan) heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Lightly season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the oil and cook until just pink on both sides, about 4-5 minutes. Remove shrimp and set aside. Add chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Remove chicken and add in the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the chicken and the remaining ingredients (except for the shrimp and frozen peas) mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in peas and shrimp and cook for an extra minute.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Homebound
Ok, so the change in backgrounds was not what I’d intended to do. To be honest, I really don’t like this Santa background. But, something went screwy with my old background. I used a template from one of those free template sights, and something happened. One day it was fine, the next day the background was all screwy. Oy! So, I had to change it to something temporary until I figure out how to make my own templates. This bright red is really getting on my nerves. It isn’t me. It doesn’t say Kristy, nor does it say Gourmand cooking.
Yesterday I ran around like the proverbial chicken with my head cut off. Since poor Dora (the Ford Explorer) is still out of commission my husband and I are sharing a car. I don’t like to share. I had the car yesterday so I could run a bunch of errands. It meant I had to get up early on my first day of Christmas break so I could take my hubby to work. It also meant that I needed to get everything possible done before 5 when I needed to go pick Tyler up from work. And most importantly, it means I’m homebound when he has the car. I loathe going out when I don’t have to. We live out in the country, 15 minutes from the middle of nowhere. So, there is no 10 minute trip to the store. When I have the luxury of coming and going at will, I generally prefer to stay home unless it’s absolutely necessary. That being said, it’s day 1 of being homebound and I’m going stir crazy. I’ve thought of at least 5 things I need to get at the store and I’m bemoaning the fact that I can’t take the dog to the pretty neighborhoods downtown (downtown Covington, not Atlanta) for a walk despite the fact that it’s overcast and grey. And no, I can’t take the dog walking here. There is no sidewalk, and we live off of a narrow, busy, winding road. So I’m sitting in the dark, cuddled under a blanket with my cat slipper on doing nothing. (In case you were wondering, no, that wasn’t a typo. My cat is sleeping on my feet, and so I refer to him as a cat slipper)
Since it is cold and dreary outside, I’ve decided to make Chicken and Sausage Soup for Tyler and me. I made it for the boys earlier this week, and now I’m making it for us. This soup came about because Tyler and I went to Medieval Times last year. They had a tomato soup. When I make a can of condensed tomato soup, I mix it with milk. Tyler thinks that’s gross. The tomato soup they had tasted like it had been made with broth. Tyler actually ate it. This got me thinking… Maybe a tomato/ broth based soup would be good. Tyler said if I made it, I should put in sausage, and it grew from there. Now, it’s a particular favorite with my husband.
Kristen’s Italian Chicken and Sausage Soup
Serves 6
Shredded Chicken from 1 Roast Deli Chicken
1 pound Italian Sausage, cooked and cut into slices
2 can Tomato Purée, 15 oz
6 cups Chicken Broth
1 ½ pounds New Potatoes
1 ½ cup Frozen Corn
1 medium Onion, chopped
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1- 1 ½ tbs Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 tbs Butter or Oil
1 Zucchini, chopped into bite-sized pieces (optional)
Microwave the potatoes until they just begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Chop the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Heat the butter/ oil in a 5 quart stock pot. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is transparent and tender. Add the remaining ingredients, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve with shredded parmesan.
* If you don’t want to pick a whole deli roast chicken, you can used canned chicken or any other cooked chicken cut up or shredded.
Yesterday I ran around like the proverbial chicken with my head cut off. Since poor Dora (the Ford Explorer) is still out of commission my husband and I are sharing a car. I don’t like to share. I had the car yesterday so I could run a bunch of errands. It meant I had to get up early on my first day of Christmas break so I could take my hubby to work. It also meant that I needed to get everything possible done before 5 when I needed to go pick Tyler up from work. And most importantly, it means I’m homebound when he has the car. I loathe going out when I don’t have to. We live out in the country, 15 minutes from the middle of nowhere. So, there is no 10 minute trip to the store. When I have the luxury of coming and going at will, I generally prefer to stay home unless it’s absolutely necessary. That being said, it’s day 1 of being homebound and I’m going stir crazy. I’ve thought of at least 5 things I need to get at the store and I’m bemoaning the fact that I can’t take the dog to the pretty neighborhoods downtown (downtown Covington, not Atlanta) for a walk despite the fact that it’s overcast and grey. And no, I can’t take the dog walking here. There is no sidewalk, and we live off of a narrow, busy, winding road. So I’m sitting in the dark, cuddled under a blanket with my cat slipper on doing nothing. (In case you were wondering, no, that wasn’t a typo. My cat is sleeping on my feet, and so I refer to him as a cat slipper)
Since it is cold and dreary outside, I’ve decided to make Chicken and Sausage Soup for Tyler and me. I made it for the boys earlier this week, and now I’m making it for us. This soup came about because Tyler and I went to Medieval Times last year. They had a tomato soup. When I make a can of condensed tomato soup, I mix it with milk. Tyler thinks that’s gross. The tomato soup they had tasted like it had been made with broth. Tyler actually ate it. This got me thinking… Maybe a tomato/ broth based soup would be good. Tyler said if I made it, I should put in sausage, and it grew from there. Now, it’s a particular favorite with my husband.
Kristen’s Italian Chicken and Sausage Soup
Serves 6
Shredded Chicken from 1 Roast Deli Chicken
1 pound Italian Sausage, cooked and cut into slices
2 can Tomato Purée, 15 oz
6 cups Chicken Broth
1 ½ pounds New Potatoes
1 ½ cup Frozen Corn
1 medium Onion, chopped
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1- 1 ½ tbs Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 tbs Butter or Oil
1 Zucchini, chopped into bite-sized pieces (optional)
Microwave the potatoes until they just begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Chop the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Heat the butter/ oil in a 5 quart stock pot. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is transparent and tender. Add the remaining ingredients, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve with shredded parmesan.
* If you don’t want to pick a whole deli roast chicken, you can used canned chicken or any other cooked chicken cut up or shredded.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful
Tuesday Menu: Lunch: Chicken Mac & Cheese
Dinner: Kristen’s Italian Chicken Sausage Soup
Dessert: 10 Pumpkin Pies and Whipped Cream (yup, you read that right, 10!)
So, last night we went to the Pioneer Woman Cooks book signing. Great fun was had by all. There were so many people in that little book store it was hard to breathe. It was an interesting crowd too. It was mostly women, but of a rather diverse age group. They ranged from girls in their early 20’s to women in their 60’s. There was one guy there on his own. He was getting the book signed as a Christmas gift for his mother. Some ladies thought that was so adorable they gave him one of their better wristbands so he could go ahead of them. It was very sweet. And it seemed almost everyone there had an awesome, fancy-pants camera. There was much camera envy by Katie and me. I have no talent for taking pictures, but that doesn’t keep me from wishing I did. Maybe if I had a fancy-pants camera… We were glad we got there early to get our wrist bands, as we were among the first to get our books signed. Ree Drummond was very nice, and I wish we’d stuck around to listen to her speak, but after an early morning and a busy day of cooking, I was definitely ready to go home. Not to mention that my trek home generally takes an hour plus, and my sister needed to go home and feed her three babies (please note I included her husband in that ;-)
Now that you’re thoroughly tired of hearing about that… let’s talk frat. It is the middle of finals week and quiet as a tomb around here. I don’t have any decent frat boyisms. They aren’t even meeting for their usual lunch-time Price is Right fix. I remember finals week. Everyone made such a fuss over it. Being a French major, finals week wasn’t really a big deal for me. Sure there were tests that I studied for, and late nights spent doing projects that I probably should have started weeks earlier. But for most of my classes, finals were never any bigger deal than any other test. In fact there was only one class I took in college where the final represented the majority of my grade. In fact, it was the only thing that we were graded on, and I failed it. I failed it because I missed the day that they taught the proper form with special emphasis on using the appropriate beginnings and endings. The test was to write a letter in the proper form. I missed that day because the metro workers decided to go on strike while I was eating lunch. Ah, the French. Luckily, it was a class I didn’t need and I only took because the schools were on strike and it was either take a bunch of fluff classes from French as a foreign language program or be sent home and have wasted thousands of dollars getting there etc… Ahhh the French… But that’s a whole different story. Remind me to tell you about it some time, it involves a crazy cab driver, blockades and getting chased and tear gassed by the police. Good times!
In other news, it’s cold outside. It’s cold, rainy, drizzly and dismal. It’s times like these that I miss snow. Snow is at least pretty. You can play in the snow, build forts, throw snowballs and go sledding. The only thing you can do when it’s cold and rainy is thank your sister again for giving you rain boots. Then I remember what it’s like to live in the Midwest. I’ve forgotten what below freezing feels like, let alone below 0. I don’t think I could handle that. They would completely freak out here. My husband has never even seen real snow; not the kind that sticks to the ground and can form a ball to hurl at his unsuspecting face. He thinks a toboggan is a kind of hat.
On cold, rainy days the only thing to do (other than thank your sister for rain boots) is make something warm, comforting and delicious. It is also a great booster if you’re stuck in room studying like a mad man for an upcoming final. Chicken Mac & Cheese is just that kind of food. It’s also a great favorite of the guys’. Whenever I ask them what they want for lunch, the answer is always chicken mac & cheese. I came up with it at the beginning of the semester. I wanted to make homemade mac & cheese but I thought they would probably want some kind of meat with it. Homemade mac & cheese is a little time consuming (compared to box mac & cheese); I think it deserves its place as a main dish so I added chicken. The result is the ultimate creamy, cheesy, meaty comfort food.
P.S. It is also an excellent comfort food on cold, snowy days, if you have those where you’re from
Chicken Mac and Cheese
Serves 25
6 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into bite sized pieces**
½ cup Vegetable Oil
1 tbs Garlic Powder
1 tbs Paprika
2 pounds Macaroni Noodles
1 ½ cups of Butter
1 ½ cups Flour
10 ½ cups Milk
3 pounds Cheese (shredded cheddar or American cut up into small cubes, depending on which you prefer)
Salt and Pepper
Heat oven to 375. In a baking dish, mix chicken pieces with oil, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Cover and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Cook macaroni according to package instructions. In sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. When butter is completely melted, whisk in flour and a little salt and about a tablespoon of pepper. Cook mixture for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add in milk slowly while whisking to prevent lumps. Reduce heat and bring to a boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly. Mixture should have thickened quite a bit. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. In baking dish (I usually use the one I cooked the chicken in, less dishes that way) add cooked macaroni and cooked chicken pieces. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir to coat pasta and chicken with sauce. Top with shredded cheddar cheese if desired. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
**Note: You can use leftover roast chicken, canned chicken, tuna, or turkey… whatever strikes your imagination or pantry. If you’re not making the chicken from scratch, omit the paprika and garlic powder. If you are making the chicken from scratch, you can use any combination of spices and herbs that strikes your fancy. Example: rosemary, garlic and thyme with a white cheddar sauce are absolutely divine. Just make everything as directed but substitute white cheddar for cheese and the appropriate spices for paprika and garlic. Or you can omit the chicken all together for your vegetarian friends or to bring it as a side dish for your next potluck
Dinner: Kristen’s Italian Chicken Sausage Soup
Dessert: 10 Pumpkin Pies and Whipped Cream (yup, you read that right, 10!)
So, last night we went to the Pioneer Woman Cooks book signing. Great fun was had by all. There were so many people in that little book store it was hard to breathe. It was an interesting crowd too. It was mostly women, but of a rather diverse age group. They ranged from girls in their early 20’s to women in their 60’s. There was one guy there on his own. He was getting the book signed as a Christmas gift for his mother. Some ladies thought that was so adorable they gave him one of their better wristbands so he could go ahead of them. It was very sweet. And it seemed almost everyone there had an awesome, fancy-pants camera. There was much camera envy by Katie and me. I have no talent for taking pictures, but that doesn’t keep me from wishing I did. Maybe if I had a fancy-pants camera… We were glad we got there early to get our wrist bands, as we were among the first to get our books signed. Ree Drummond was very nice, and I wish we’d stuck around to listen to her speak, but after an early morning and a busy day of cooking, I was definitely ready to go home. Not to mention that my trek home generally takes an hour plus, and my sister needed to go home and feed her three babies (please note I included her husband in that ;-)
Now that you’re thoroughly tired of hearing about that… let’s talk frat. It is the middle of finals week and quiet as a tomb around here. I don’t have any decent frat boyisms. They aren’t even meeting for their usual lunch-time Price is Right fix. I remember finals week. Everyone made such a fuss over it. Being a French major, finals week wasn’t really a big deal for me. Sure there were tests that I studied for, and late nights spent doing projects that I probably should have started weeks earlier. But for most of my classes, finals were never any bigger deal than any other test. In fact there was only one class I took in college where the final represented the majority of my grade. In fact, it was the only thing that we were graded on, and I failed it. I failed it because I missed the day that they taught the proper form with special emphasis on using the appropriate beginnings and endings. The test was to write a letter in the proper form. I missed that day because the metro workers decided to go on strike while I was eating lunch. Ah, the French. Luckily, it was a class I didn’t need and I only took because the schools were on strike and it was either take a bunch of fluff classes from French as a foreign language program or be sent home and have wasted thousands of dollars getting there etc… Ahhh the French… But that’s a whole different story. Remind me to tell you about it some time, it involves a crazy cab driver, blockades and getting chased and tear gassed by the police. Good times!
In other news, it’s cold outside. It’s cold, rainy, drizzly and dismal. It’s times like these that I miss snow. Snow is at least pretty. You can play in the snow, build forts, throw snowballs and go sledding. The only thing you can do when it’s cold and rainy is thank your sister again for giving you rain boots. Then I remember what it’s like to live in the Midwest. I’ve forgotten what below freezing feels like, let alone below 0. I don’t think I could handle that. They would completely freak out here. My husband has never even seen real snow; not the kind that sticks to the ground and can form a ball to hurl at his unsuspecting face. He thinks a toboggan is a kind of hat.
On cold, rainy days the only thing to do (other than thank your sister for rain boots) is make something warm, comforting and delicious. It is also a great booster if you’re stuck in room studying like a mad man for an upcoming final. Chicken Mac & Cheese is just that kind of food. It’s also a great favorite of the guys’. Whenever I ask them what they want for lunch, the answer is always chicken mac & cheese. I came up with it at the beginning of the semester. I wanted to make homemade mac & cheese but I thought they would probably want some kind of meat with it. Homemade mac & cheese is a little time consuming (compared to box mac & cheese); I think it deserves its place as a main dish so I added chicken. The result is the ultimate creamy, cheesy, meaty comfort food.
P.S. It is also an excellent comfort food on cold, snowy days, if you have those where you’re from
Chicken Mac and Cheese
Serves 25
6 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into bite sized pieces**
½ cup Vegetable Oil
1 tbs Garlic Powder
1 tbs Paprika
2 pounds Macaroni Noodles
1 ½ cups of Butter
1 ½ cups Flour
10 ½ cups Milk
3 pounds Cheese (shredded cheddar or American cut up into small cubes, depending on which you prefer)
Salt and Pepper
Heat oven to 375. In a baking dish, mix chicken pieces with oil, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Cover and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Cook macaroni according to package instructions. In sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. When butter is completely melted, whisk in flour and a little salt and about a tablespoon of pepper. Cook mixture for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add in milk slowly while whisking to prevent lumps. Reduce heat and bring to a boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly. Mixture should have thickened quite a bit. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. In baking dish (I usually use the one I cooked the chicken in, less dishes that way) add cooked macaroni and cooked chicken pieces. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir to coat pasta and chicken with sauce. Top with shredded cheddar cheese if desired. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
**Note: You can use leftover roast chicken, canned chicken, tuna, or turkey… whatever strikes your imagination or pantry. If you’re not making the chicken from scratch, omit the paprika and garlic powder. If you are making the chicken from scratch, you can use any combination of spices and herbs that strikes your fancy. Example: rosemary, garlic and thyme with a white cheddar sauce are absolutely divine. Just make everything as directed but substitute white cheddar for cheese and the appropriate spices for paprika and garlic. Or you can omit the chicken all together for your vegetarian friends or to bring it as a side dish for your next potluck
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Ham I Am
Thursday Menu: Lunch: Pesto Chicken Sandwiches and Chips
Dinner: Glazed Baked Ham, Green Bean Casserole, Dinner Rolls and Apple and Onion Stuffing
So, when I left last night there were 3 cans of decorating icing (the kind that you attach the tip and squirt) and 2 tubes of glitter gel. He hehe, yes I put glitter gel on the boys’ cookies. Anyway, this morning when I came in, the cans of icing were all but gone. Apparently they decided there wasn’t enough icing on the cookies and had an after dinner art project.
Today was a relatively easy day. Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about cooking over the holidays. People stress out so much about cooking for 12 people… Ha! By now, I could do that in my sleep. I’m not saying that I don’t sometimes stress out about getting stuff done, but that’s generally either because something is out of whack (cough cough… the grill cough cough) or because the guys have changed something last minute (remember the time when they let me know on a Monday that there would be 40 guys instead of the usual 20-some?) or because someone has eaten the food I need to prepare the meal. But, on a normal day like today, it doesn’t really seem like anything more strenuous than putting out a dinner for me and my husband. Perhaps even less stressful because I really don’t care when the guys complain about not liking onions. I don’t know, maybe it’s the impeding invasion of family that stresses people out, maybe I’m just weird and like cooking enough for an army. If you’re going to make a ham, how much harder is it to make 3 than 1? And then I can be nice and share the extra ham bones with family. Yes, I am going to steal the ham bones. But hey, what are a bunch of frat boys going to do with ham bones? Ok, other than throw them in the burn barrel and light them on fire when they get drunk. It’s isn’t like any of them know a good recipe for ham and bean soup ooo or lentil soup! I think that’s what I’m going to make with my ham bone; I’m going to make some lentil soup!
I have noticed a few changes in how I cook since I started cooking for the frat. For one, I feel weird cutting stuff up or touching raw meat when I’m not wearing gloves. I’ve seriously considered buying some gloves for home, but then I realized I was being crazy. I also noticed that I’ve had difficulty scaling back when I get home. It feels wrong to make something for 2. I want to dump a handful of herbs into the pot instead of just sprinkle a little in. Luckily, I haven’t really tired of cooking yet. Sometimes I feel too tired to cook when I get home, but that’s more the never-ending, stress-inducing 1-1 ½ hour commute I have each way. I would give anything to live in our old house back in the Brookwood area… Except the one we’re living in now is bigger and almost a third less in rent. But that’s a different story.
Chicken Pesto Sandwiches
Serves 18
6 ½ - 7 pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
4 tbs Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 ½ cup Prepared Pesto
Cut the chicken breast into small, bite size pieces. Season chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil over in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sauté until cooked through. Drain any excess liquid. Add pesto to hot chicken. Serve with Provolone, lettuce and tomato slices on either toasted Italian bread or a large sandwich croissant.
Ham Glaze
For 1 8-10 pound ham
10 cups packed Brown Sugar
2 1/2 cups Orange Juice
2 tbs Molasses
2 2/3 tbs Ground Mustard Seed
Mix ingredients together. Remove ham 30 minutes before it’s done. If not a spiral sliced ham, cut diamonds into the surface of the ham, being careful to not cut into the meat. Cover with glaze. Return to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Dinner: Glazed Baked Ham, Green Bean Casserole, Dinner Rolls and Apple and Onion Stuffing
So, when I left last night there were 3 cans of decorating icing (the kind that you attach the tip and squirt) and 2 tubes of glitter gel. He hehe, yes I put glitter gel on the boys’ cookies. Anyway, this morning when I came in, the cans of icing were all but gone. Apparently they decided there wasn’t enough icing on the cookies and had an after dinner art project.
Today was a relatively easy day. Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about cooking over the holidays. People stress out so much about cooking for 12 people… Ha! By now, I could do that in my sleep. I’m not saying that I don’t sometimes stress out about getting stuff done, but that’s generally either because something is out of whack (cough cough… the grill cough cough) or because the guys have changed something last minute (remember the time when they let me know on a Monday that there would be 40 guys instead of the usual 20-some?) or because someone has eaten the food I need to prepare the meal. But, on a normal day like today, it doesn’t really seem like anything more strenuous than putting out a dinner for me and my husband. Perhaps even less stressful because I really don’t care when the guys complain about not liking onions. I don’t know, maybe it’s the impeding invasion of family that stresses people out, maybe I’m just weird and like cooking enough for an army. If you’re going to make a ham, how much harder is it to make 3 than 1? And then I can be nice and share the extra ham bones with family. Yes, I am going to steal the ham bones. But hey, what are a bunch of frat boys going to do with ham bones? Ok, other than throw them in the burn barrel and light them on fire when they get drunk. It’s isn’t like any of them know a good recipe for ham and bean soup ooo or lentil soup! I think that’s what I’m going to make with my ham bone; I’m going to make some lentil soup!
I have noticed a few changes in how I cook since I started cooking for the frat. For one, I feel weird cutting stuff up or touching raw meat when I’m not wearing gloves. I’ve seriously considered buying some gloves for home, but then I realized I was being crazy. I also noticed that I’ve had difficulty scaling back when I get home. It feels wrong to make something for 2. I want to dump a handful of herbs into the pot instead of just sprinkle a little in. Luckily, I haven’t really tired of cooking yet. Sometimes I feel too tired to cook when I get home, but that’s more the never-ending, stress-inducing 1-1 ½ hour commute I have each way. I would give anything to live in our old house back in the Brookwood area… Except the one we’re living in now is bigger and almost a third less in rent. But that’s a different story.
Chicken Pesto Sandwiches
Serves 18
6 ½ - 7 pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
4 tbs Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 ½ cup Prepared Pesto
Cut the chicken breast into small, bite size pieces. Season chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil over in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sauté until cooked through. Drain any excess liquid. Add pesto to hot chicken. Serve with Provolone, lettuce and tomato slices on either toasted Italian bread or a large sandwich croissant.
Ham Glaze
For 1 8-10 pound ham
10 cups packed Brown Sugar
2 1/2 cups Orange Juice
2 tbs Molasses
2 2/3 tbs Ground Mustard Seed
Mix ingredients together. Remove ham 30 minutes before it’s done. If not a spiral sliced ham, cut diamonds into the surface of the ham, being careful to not cut into the meat. Cover with glaze. Return to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
2 for Tuesday
Tuesday Menu: Lunch: Buffalo Wings, Celery and Baby Carrots
Dinner: Russian Chicken, Buttered Noodles and Mixed Veggies
Dessert: Pumpkin Roll (AKA Pumpkin Ho-Ho)
Today is 2 for Tuesday as I am throwing in an extra recipe: Russian Chicken and Pumpkin Roll. Ok, so the pumpkin roll one isn’t actually my recipe. It is, in truth, off of the Libby’s Pumpkin can, but it’s on the back of the label and therefore hard to get to. And then, you go embarrass yourself by trying to peel the label off in the store to make sure you have all the ingredients you need, and everyone’s looking at you like you’re nuts, and some store clerk comes up and asks you if you need help… Ok, so I have some issues when it comes to Libby’s Pumpkin Roll. Not the least of which is that my family calls it pumpkin ho-ho. Which I feel demeans all the hard work that goes into actually making it. It is not some glorified chocolate Twinkie, but it is a delicious dessert that makes an excellent accompaniment to any holiday meal.
Russian chicken is a recipe I borrowed and adapted from my old boss. I was lucky to fall in with a company that loved food (and drink) as much if not more than I did, and we were always swapping recipes. She made this one at work for us one chilly winter day. The prep is soo easy. Throw a couple things together and throw them in the oven for a while. And the smell… oh the smell. You know when Russian chicken is in the oven; you spend all day salivating over it. The chicken is absolutely fall off the bone, and it turns a delightful red.
Libby’s Pumpkin Roll
Serves 10 (I’m making 5)
Cake:
Powdered Sugar
¾ cup Flour
½ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Ground Cloves
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp Salt
3 Eggs
1 cup Granulated Sugar
2/3 cup Canned Pumpkin (not the pie filling kind)
1 cup Walnuts, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 15x10 jelly roll pan, line with parchment paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton towel with powdered sugar (Note: Not a terry cloth towel. If you don’t have a flour sack towel, you can use a clean sheet of parchment paper. Just be sure it measures out longer and wider than your cake)
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in mixer until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly in prepared pan, and sprinkle with nuts.
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together. Allow to cool completely.
Filling:
½ lb Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
6 Tbsp Butter, softened
1 tsp Vanilla
Powdered Sugar
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in mixer until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread filling mixture evenly over cake. Reroll cake . Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.
Russian Chicken
Serves 26
28 Chicken Leg Quarters
9 bottles Russian Salad Dressing (If not available, use Catalina)
9 pkgs Onion Soup Mix
4 jars Peach Jam
1 cup Sliced Jalapenos, the canned variety
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together salad dressing, onion soup mix and peach jam until thoroughly combined. Arrange chicken in a greased baking dish, skin side up. Pour dressing mix over chicken. Sprinkle with jalapenos. Cover and bake for 1-1 ½ hours, uncovering the last 30 minutes.
Dinner: Russian Chicken, Buttered Noodles and Mixed Veggies
Dessert: Pumpkin Roll (AKA Pumpkin Ho-Ho)
Today is 2 for Tuesday as I am throwing in an extra recipe: Russian Chicken and Pumpkin Roll. Ok, so the pumpkin roll one isn’t actually my recipe. It is, in truth, off of the Libby’s Pumpkin can, but it’s on the back of the label and therefore hard to get to. And then, you go embarrass yourself by trying to peel the label off in the store to make sure you have all the ingredients you need, and everyone’s looking at you like you’re nuts, and some store clerk comes up and asks you if you need help… Ok, so I have some issues when it comes to Libby’s Pumpkin Roll. Not the least of which is that my family calls it pumpkin ho-ho. Which I feel demeans all the hard work that goes into actually making it. It is not some glorified chocolate Twinkie, but it is a delicious dessert that makes an excellent accompaniment to any holiday meal.
Russian chicken is a recipe I borrowed and adapted from my old boss. I was lucky to fall in with a company that loved food (and drink) as much if not more than I did, and we were always swapping recipes. She made this one at work for us one chilly winter day. The prep is soo easy. Throw a couple things together and throw them in the oven for a while. And the smell… oh the smell. You know when Russian chicken is in the oven; you spend all day salivating over it. The chicken is absolutely fall off the bone, and it turns a delightful red.
Libby’s Pumpkin Roll
Serves 10 (I’m making 5)
Cake:
Powdered Sugar
¾ cup Flour
½ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Ground Cloves
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp Salt
3 Eggs
1 cup Granulated Sugar
2/3 cup Canned Pumpkin (not the pie filling kind)
1 cup Walnuts, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 15x10 jelly roll pan, line with parchment paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton towel with powdered sugar (Note: Not a terry cloth towel. If you don’t have a flour sack towel, you can use a clean sheet of parchment paper. Just be sure it measures out longer and wider than your cake)
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in mixer until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly in prepared pan, and sprinkle with nuts.
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together. Allow to cool completely.
Filling:
½ lb Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
6 Tbsp Butter, softened
1 tsp Vanilla
Powdered Sugar
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in mixer until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread filling mixture evenly over cake. Reroll cake . Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.
Russian Chicken
Serves 26
28 Chicken Leg Quarters
9 bottles Russian Salad Dressing (If not available, use Catalina)
9 pkgs Onion Soup Mix
4 jars Peach Jam
1 cup Sliced Jalapenos, the canned variety
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together salad dressing, onion soup mix and peach jam until thoroughly combined. Arrange chicken in a greased baking dish, skin side up. Pour dressing mix over chicken. Sprinkle with jalapenos. Cover and bake for 1-1 ½ hours, uncovering the last 30 minutes.
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