Hello, blog readers. I think you have noticed a dwindling of delicious feasts lately. Let me explain!
-We were in CT for the weekend.
-Craig is now in Portland, Oregon for a business trip all week, and it's no fun making delicious feasts for myself.
-I think I have the flu.
For all these reasons, unfortunately blog is going on a little hiatus until life gets back to NORMAL!
But, there is some exciting food news to report. Bill won A Thyme To Cook's Chili Contest on Sunday...woohoo!!! There were 13 entries and his was clearly the dominant chili creation. And so the kitchen blog salutes you, Bill!
Okay, off to take more cold medicine. I hope blog will be back by next Monday. Have a good week!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Huevos Rancheros
Good evening all! Well, tonight's meal was inspired by my kitchen idol, Rachael Ray. (Who, I might add, I get to see IN PERSON in T-minus 14 days.) She did a variation of this huevos rancheros meal on 30-Minute Meals. I honestly don't remember how she did it, but this is my adaptation...I've been making it for a few months now and it's one of Craig's faves. Sorry the measurements aren't very exact, I do a lot of guesstimating on this one.INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
2 soft tortillas
1 can navy beans
2 tsp hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot, etc.)
A little bit of chili powder
Salsa
Taco cheese (shredded)
Taco sauce
1 green pepper, cut into small bits
Salt
Pepper
DIRECTIONS:
-Spray a small skillet with cooking spray. Cook the navy beans in the skillet with the hot sauce and chili powder, and stir. I usually let these simmer on medium heat while I'm making the rest of the meal.
-Spray a larger skillet with cooking spray, and break the 4 eggs into the skillet. Put on salt/pepper as desired. Let the eggs cook, on medium heat, most of the way through, then flip them over. (Try not to break the yolks like I always do!)
-With the heat still on, put some of the taco cheese and salsa (as desired, though usually 1 tsp of salsa per egg does the trick) on top of each egg. Let the cheese melt a little before turning the heat off.
-Give the beans one last stir, then turn the heat off those too.
-Put a tortilla on each plate. On each tortilla, scoop about half the bean mixture. Then place 2 of the eggs on top of each pile of beans. Cover with more taco cheese and taco sauce, as desired. We put the green pepper on at the end, but you could probably also put them on while the eggs are cooking too.
-Eat up!
COMMENTS:
-There is really nothing healthy about this meal. Just wanted to warn you.
-Rachael Ray calls for navy beans in this recipe, but we actually found these awesome beans that are way better. They're called Kuner's Southwestern Jalapeno Black Beans. They come with a bunch of spices mixed in already, and pieces of jalapeno. We still put the hot sauce/chili powder in with them, and they taste awesome. If you can find them in your grocery store, I highly recommend this substitution!
-This is a really fast meal! Which means, I love it.
Happy cooking!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Chicken Club Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Sorry about no blog last night, y'all. It was Date Night, so Red Lobster did the cooking for us. :) We highly recommend the buffalo shrimp with ranch...yummmm.
Tonight's feast was again, from Betty Crocker. Tomorrow I'll mix it up, I promise. I have a little Rachael Ray in store for you!! But as for tonight's food, it wasn't that difficult, basically a dressed up chicken salad. Still really good though, read on:
INGREDIENTS:
6 cups bite-size pieces of lettuce
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 tsp vegetable oil
About 1 1/4 lbs chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips
8 slices bacon
1 medium onion, chopped (half cup)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup flavored croutons
1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
DIRECTIONS:
-Mix lettuce and tomatoes in large bowl.
-Heat oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Arrange chicken on the lettuce.
-Cook bacon in the same skillet over low heat 8-10 minutes, until crisp and brown. Remove bacon from skillet, but reserve 2 tbsp fat in the skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels. Crumble bacon, sprinkle over salad.
-Cook onion in bacon fat over medium heat about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Stir in sugar, mustard, pepper and vinegar. Cook 2 more minutes until hot.
-Pour onion mixture over salad and toss. Top with croutons and cheese. Serve warm.
COMMENTS:
Despite the fact that this was nothing fancy, the bacon dressing was actually really good. This is a really light meal too, which we liked. Craig's whole plate was gone before I blinked, and when I couldn't finish mine, he offered to eat more. So in my book, a job well done!
We improvised as usual. No onion for us, so we just made the dressing with everything else. Tasted fine. We didn't have cider vinegar, so my helpful sous chef suggested we mix the 2 kinds of vinegar we do have (red wine and regular) together to make the half cup. Worked great. (We are just so adventurous, aren't we?) Also we used Mozzarella cheese instead of swiss, not like that matters, but just thought you'd like to know!
I should probably note that most of these recipes are for 4-6 servings. Obviously there is only 2 of us, so we end up with lots of leftovers. Which is helpful, since I don't have to spend money on Lean Cuisines and Hot Pockets for lunch anymore.
In other food news, Craig has taken up wine making, in addition to his beer making. Zinfandel is fermenting in our office room, next to a batch of Newcastle. It stinks of alcohol in here. I'm not sure what the neighbors think.
Until next time! (And yes, I always cook in my gym clothes.)
Tonight's feast was again, from Betty Crocker. Tomorrow I'll mix it up, I promise. I have a little Rachael Ray in store for you!! But as for tonight's food, it wasn't that difficult, basically a dressed up chicken salad. Still really good though, read on:
INGREDIENTS:
6 cups bite-size pieces of lettuce
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 tsp vegetable oil
About 1 1/4 lbs chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips
8 slices bacon
1 medium onion, chopped (half cup)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup flavored croutons
1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
DIRECTIONS:
-Mix lettuce and tomatoes in large bowl.
-Heat oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Arrange chicken on the lettuce.
-Cook bacon in the same skillet over low heat 8-10 minutes, until crisp and brown. Remove bacon from skillet, but reserve 2 tbsp fat in the skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels. Crumble bacon, sprinkle over salad.
-Cook onion in bacon fat over medium heat about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Stir in sugar, mustard, pepper and vinegar. Cook 2 more minutes until hot.
-Pour onion mixture over salad and toss. Top with croutons and cheese. Serve warm.
COMMENTS:
Despite the fact that this was nothing fancy, the bacon dressing was actually really good. This is a really light meal too, which we liked. Craig's whole plate was gone before I blinked, and when I couldn't finish mine, he offered to eat more. So in my book, a job well done!
We improvised as usual. No onion for us, so we just made the dressing with everything else. Tasted fine. We didn't have cider vinegar, so my helpful sous chef suggested we mix the 2 kinds of vinegar we do have (red wine and regular) together to make the half cup. Worked great. (We are just so adventurous, aren't we?) Also we used Mozzarella cheese instead of swiss, not like that matters, but just thought you'd like to know!
I should probably note that most of these recipes are for 4-6 servings. Obviously there is only 2 of us, so we end up with lots of leftovers. Which is helpful, since I don't have to spend money on Lean Cuisines and Hot Pockets for lunch anymore.
In other food news, Craig has taken up wine making, in addition to his beer making. Zinfandel is fermenting in our office room, next to a batch of Newcastle. It stinks of alcohol in here. I'm not sure what the neighbors think.
Until next time! (And yes, I always cook in my gym clothes.)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Summer Garden Chicken Stir Fry
This was tonight's delicious feast, straight from the Betty Crocker Bridal Edition. Check it out (comments at the bottom):
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped gingerroot
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 cup baby carrots, cut lengthwise
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 tsp sugar
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
Hot cooked rice
DIRECTIONS:
-Spray nonstick skillet with cooking spray, heat over med-high heat. Add chicken, garlic and gingerroot, stir fry 2-3 minutes/until chicken is brown.
-Add onion, carrots, 3/4 cup of the broth, the soy sauce, and sugar. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes.
-Add broccoli, mushrooms and bell pepper. Cover and cook 5 more minutes/until chicken is no longer pink.
-Mix cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup broth, stir into chicken mixture. Cook until sauce is thickened and serve over rice.
COMMENTS:
This was a pretty easy one and we both really liked it. I did some improvising:
-We didn't have gingerroot. (What the H is gingerroot?) So I used ginger instead. Not sure if that is the same thing, but no one has died and it tasted good anyway.
-We don't like onions/mushrooms so we left those out. We used extra bell peppers. I was going to add celery, but lo and behold, the celery had gone bad. So no celery. Still good anyway.
My mom would be so proud, I managed to get meat, veggies and starch into the same dinner.
And before you go, here are pictures of me and "Sous Chef" Craig, making tonight's delicious feast with our new wok:
Welcome to my new adventure!
I know some people might not believe it, but...I am learning how to cook.
Any of you that have known me for any amount of time, understand that I have previously been a disaster in the kitchen. At age 12, I asked my parents how to boil water. At age 17, I attempted to bake cookies, but did not add flour. And at age 20, I screwed up a batch of deviled eggs (I still don't know how).
But, at the ripe old age of 24, I have decided to cast aside my fears and plunge into cooking headfirst. (Also I just got married, and we have all these new kitchen appliances that really can't go to waste.) Now that I'm not planning a wedding anymore, I told my husband that I will instead plan meals. He was skeptical at first but is slowly appreciating this more domesticated side of me.
I've already done about 1-2 weeks of "delicious feasts" (as I call them), and since the kitchen has not burned down yet, I figured it was safe to chronicle my work in blog form.
So.
Kelly vs. Kitchen.
Round One, Fight!
Any of you that have known me for any amount of time, understand that I have previously been a disaster in the kitchen. At age 12, I asked my parents how to boil water. At age 17, I attempted to bake cookies, but did not add flour. And at age 20, I screwed up a batch of deviled eggs (I still don't know how).
But, at the ripe old age of 24, I have decided to cast aside my fears and plunge into cooking headfirst. (Also I just got married, and we have all these new kitchen appliances that really can't go to waste.) Now that I'm not planning a wedding anymore, I told my husband that I will instead plan meals. He was skeptical at first but is slowly appreciating this more domesticated side of me.
I've already done about 1-2 weeks of "delicious feasts" (as I call them), and since the kitchen has not burned down yet, I figured it was safe to chronicle my work in blog form.
So.
Kelly vs. Kitchen.
Round One, Fight!
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