Recipes Unrelated

The last couple of days have included cooking and eating, but I have had a hard time getting my thoughts together regarding the results.  Here we go (in no particular thought pattern):

Saturday:

To the dreaded slow-cooker, I added a questionable recipe. 
Fish in the slow-cooker...I have done it and now I won't need to do that again.  There is really no way to know exactly when it is ready and the recipe I used was less than desirable in the flavor department. 

Sunday:
Guests over (Drew's parents).
In a complete change of pace for me, I got somewhat intimidated by the planned recipe and decided to go with a tried on true recipe. 
Chicken and Dumplings done a la Sandra Lee (who I find mostly annoying...for a number of reasons, one of which includes her recipes actually tasting good). 
The other recipe did the whole thing from scratch and for some reason intimidated me. 
While thinking about this at length (I have nothing else to fill my days), I realized it was because I have never had chicken and dumplings other than the ones by Sandra Lee.  When I was a child, the word "dumpling" disturbed me and I refused to even try this dish. 
The Chicken and Dumplings turned out very nice and I recommend them heartily to anyone who, unlike me, is fine with the word "dumpling" and its implications.

Also made Pumpkin Spice Bars (Christmas with Southern Living 2009) for dessert.  These were somewhat disappointing.

This was ironic because it was the Chicken and Dumplings I was concerned would not meet the standard of Sandra Lee (and thus the other recipe was tossed).  I was really looking forward to the Pumpkin dessert.
There is another pumpkin bar recipe I have made a couple of times in the last couple of years and it is phenomenal.  This one, not as much.  I would have rather had the other.
While thinking about disappointing desserts (again...nothing to fill my days), I started realizing that dessert is something you don't mess with. 
I really can't have dessert every day because of the calories and so if I want dessert, it is going to have to be something tried and true, something to look forward to, something to talk about.
This is magnified when dining out.  In addition to the caloric intake factor, there is an expense to consider.  This is the reason I don't order dessert at most restaurants.  I don't want to be disappointed and a brownie with ice cream on top is not usually worth my time.  The list of must have dine-out desserts for me is extremely small...sad!

Monday
Today was the first day I woke up and was cold.  It was one of those days!  This meant soup. 
So, I got started on PC's Creamy Harvest Soup.  This involved roasting various fall veggies, pureeing them, adding cream, and serving. 

It was not that bad, but not that great.  Drew said, it didn't have" much flavor."  I agreed with him that it was mild. 

There you have it.  You are caught up in the kitchen.  And in the meantime the Mavs have won the last two games, tonight's had the best ending of the season.  A cold-ish day and a win - can't beat that!

Big Batch Cooking

Normally, I do not make large quantities of food.  This is due, in large part, to our small family.  The other reason: we are not leftover friendly (by we, I mean, one of us).  At least that is what one of us thinks.  Tonight's dinner is proof that leftovers can be different for each meal.  This is often called morphing or cook once, eat twice meal planning. I did a lot of this type of meal planning while cooking through Robin Miller's cookbooks.  I highly recommend her cookbooks to all the mom readers out there.  She has really simple, flavorful recipes that save time and money in the kitchen.  She has a new cookbook I don't have yet and the next time I need a cookbook, I have a pretty good idea what I will choose.  
Tonight's dinner plan includes a plan for 2 meals this week and one next week.  I am so pleased to know there is a Master Planner in control of the meal plans I make.  I am thankful to find that, though this week offers much to do and limited time to do it all, I had already planned to make this cook once, eat 3 times meal.  What a blessing!

Here's the rundown:  PC's Stoneware Inspirations Make Ahead Get Ahead menu plan for Hearty Meat Sauce.  The meals made from this meat sauce: Beef Tostadas, Pasta Roll-ups, and Chili Bread Bowls.  We had the tostadas tonight, will have the pasta roll-ups on Wednesday, and will have the chili bread bowls early next week.  The beef tostadas left a little to be desired in the flavor department, but I know the flavors of the meat sauce will lend themselves better to the chili and pasta roll ups.  I am looking forward to the pasta on Wednesday.  You might notice in the picture that there are 3 containers ready for the fridge/freezer.  Bonus:  this freezes for up to 3 months and I have a head start on a meal for the holiday season!  Gotta love it!
By the way, Drew stopped by the store and got the items necessary to make the meat sauce and I was pleased to find out that all these ingredients cost about $14.00 (no sales, no coupons).  We will eat 4 times on this and I am planning to bless another family with a meal later this week.  That breaks down to about $3.00 a meal.  Not bad!

Wing Weekend

As food lovers go, each of us have our obsessions with specific foods.  Mine: cilantro, pumpkin, pesto, cheesecake (I am sure there are others).  Drew's: wings, buffalo sauce, pickles, Dr. Pepper (I think this pretty much sums him up).  I strive to be a good wife to my husband.  I attempt to provide him with the things he loves on a regular basis.  I try to make sure we are always stocked with pickles (I am currently failing in that area - must take a trip to the grocery store soon), we have 3-4 different types of buffalo sauce in the fridge/pantry, and this weekend, was an unofficial wing weekend.  I intended it to be a wing night on Saturday night, but I inadvertantly got started too late on one wing recipe.  It turned out to be a blessing, because we are trying to eat out only once on weekends for lunch. 
So last night I made one of Drew's favorites:  PC Smoky Buffalo Chicken Wings  (they have published this recipe in a few of their recent Season's Best cookbooks).   This is a favorite for both of us for different reasons.  Drew loves the flavor of the BBQ and buffalo.  I love the recipe because it is SO EASY to make.  This involves microwaving the chicken in PC's covered baker (A wonderful tool for your kitchen) and then throwing the wings in a pan with a little oil for a few minutes to give them a little brown.  Toss with the rub and sauce to finish them off and you are done.  Easy, Easy - less than 30 minutes.  I served this with a bag salad and we enjoyed the rest of the evening with popcorn and cokes while catching up on old episodes of House. 
Today, I made wings again for lunch from another PC cookbook: Spicy Chicken Wings from Stoneware Inspirations.  These are a completely different flavor, based on Indian chicken tikka.  We are lovers of Indian food in a big way, so I enjoy making Indian flavored foods.  This involved marinating the wings overnight in yougurt and spices a la any Indian cooking method you can think of.  This afternoon, I threw them in the oven for 45 minutes and then we had lunch.  Another incredibly simple recipe with good flavor results.  Drew still prefers the Buffalo wings, but I think he enjoyed these as well.  I did make the sauce for the wings, despite my hesitations to do so.  I did not like it because it is an apricot based thing.  I don't really prefer mixing sweet with savory flavors as a rule.  Drew wouldn't even try it - I don't blame him. 

As a side note, my husband, the love of my life, one of the funniest people I know has started his own blog and here is his review on the latest "new" pickle to enter our lives: http://thereliquiarium.blogspot.com/2009/09/pickles-pickles-pickles-and-gods-love.html
Read and enjoy!