Advent Event: 20 Days

I can't believe it is 20 days to Christmas!  It is such a busy time and it flies by so fast!  Here is what is on  the calendar today:

Around here, we often have people over for dinner in the middle of the week, especially around the holidays.  When we do, I am always challenged to come up with a simple dessert to serve along with a simple meal.  It can't take too much time in the day to make, but has to be indulgent (what dessert isn't indulgent?).  This dessert is a perfect candidate for middle of the week entertaining during the holidays. 

Croissant Bread Pudding w/ Citrus Carmel Sauce

Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
4 large croissants
1 red baking apple
6 eggs
1/2 c. plus 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
2 c. half and half
1 orange
1/2 c. pecans chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly spray baker with nonstick cooking spray.  Slice croissants from top to bottom into 1/2 inch slices.  Set aside 16 of the largest slices.  Cube remaining slices and place in bottom of baker.  Arrange reserved slices over cubes in an overlapping circular pattern.
2.  Core and slice apple, leaving peel on.  Tuck apple slices between croissant slices.
3.  In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and 1/2 c. sugar.  Warm up half and half in microwave (on HIGH) for 2 minutes or until hot.  Slowly add half and half to egg mixture; whisking until well blended.  Carefully pour egg mixture over croissants.  If necessary, lightly press croissants down to coat.
4.  Zest and juice orange (you will need about 2 tsp. zest and 1/4 c. juice); set juice aside.  Combine remaining 3 Tbsp. sugar, orange zest, and pecans; sprinkle over croissants.  Bake 30-35 Minutes or until golden brown and set in center.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes.


Citrus Carmel Sauce
Ingredients:
3/4 c. caramel ice cream topping
1/4 tsp. rum extract
1/2 c. golden raisins (optional)
1/4 c. orange juice (reserved from above)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a Microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 30-60 seconds or until hot.  Serve sauce over bread pudding.

The recipe is from Pampered Chef.

Churros Magnificos

I sense a theme lately in my posts.  Must be a Mexican mood!  For dessert for my mom's birthday, I decided to make her favorite Disney dessert.  She calls them Charos (yes, like the singer - I don't think she would taste good deep fried, but it might be a way to get her to be quiet), but the actual name is Churros.  We have been going to Disneyland with her for about 5 years and she still hasn't learned how to say them, but she sure knows how to eat them!  They ARE especially tasty at the end of a fun-filled, junk-foodie day at Mickey's home.
I have tried churros before with very unhappy results.  So, armed with a new recipe and an important innovation from Drew, I was ready to make this dessert.  The results were pretty good!  I got the recipe from Ultimate Mexican.  It is simple to prepare and tastes and smells great!  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
vegetable oil for deep-fat frying
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Procedure:
1. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, brown sugar, and salt.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon.  Cook and stir mixture until it forms a ball and pulls away form the side of the pan.  Remove from heat.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Add vanilla and egg, beating well with a wooden spoon. 
2.  Transfer batter to a pastry bag (or cookie press, see below) fitted with a star tip.  Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.  Pipe 4 inch long logs onto prepared baking sheet. 
3.  In a deep saucepan, heat 3 inches of oil to 375F.  Fry logs, a few at a time, in hot oil about 2 minutes or until golden brown on both sides, turning once.  Drain on paper towels.  Keep warm while you do the remaining batches.
4.  In a medium bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.  Roll warm churros in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Serve warm.

The innovation Drew came up with was using a cookie press to create the traditional churro shape.  I have a Pampered Chef cookie press that has never seen action.  I opened it up and checked out the designs and Drew helped me pick one that would work - it was perfect.  The press also made forming the Churro dough into churro shapes so simple.  If you don't have a cookie press, you can use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

Calzone Casserole

Yeah, I had never heard of it either.  And to be quite honest, after eating tonight's dinner I wonder why you don't just make it into a calzone.  It has all the same ingredients as a calzone, but is just formed different.  Oh the lengths food editors will go to come up with a new recipe.

Tonight's recipe is inspired by a Cooking Light recipe called Spinach-Feta Calzone Casserole (see here), but I changed it very much so here's the adapted recipe:

Ingredients
1 pkg Pampered Chef Pizza Dough mix (or any pizza dough you have) + ingredients to make the dough
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion (thinly sliced)
2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
salt & pepper to taste
1 large bunch fresh spinach, washed, trimmed, and roughly chopped
1 1/4 c. ricotta cheese
1 c. Italian cheese blend
1 c. cooked chicken breast
2 Tbsp. Garlic Oil
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning blend

The Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.  Prep the dough according to package directions.  Turn out onto a floured surface and roll into a 12" square.  Place the dough in an 8x8 baking pan.  Leave the excess over the edges. 
2. Heat oil in dutch oven and add onions and garlic.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions start to brown.  Remove from pan and place in a large bowl.  Salt and pepper the onions and keep warm.
3.  Add spinach to pan in batches, stirring often, until the spinach wilts (about 4 minutes). 
4. Add spinach, ricotta cheese, Italian cheese, and chicken to the onion mixture.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir well.  Pour spinach mixture into the prepared pizza dough crust.  Fold edges over the top and brush with garlic oil.  Sprinkle Italian seasoning blend over the top. 
5.  Bake in oven at 425 F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

This was not Drew's favorite dish, but I really enjoyed it.  The fresh spinach tasted great and the ricotta was very mild.  I would make this again for a pot-luck event. 

Game Night, Pizza Night, Same Diff

Trying to get back into the swing of things has made for a tiresome day.  Thankfully, we were rewarded with a great (and important) win by the Mavericks tonight (Dirk for his 2nd career triple-double) and a pizza worth the time it took to make it. 
We are pretty simple pizza eaters by most standards.  Every once in a while we will step outside the box and try something new, but mostly we like pepperoni.  Drew prefers onions with his; I like black olives (as many as possible) with mine.  So it was not anything special, but it was good. 
I used the Pampered Chef Pizza Dough mix.  This was the first attempt and skepticism soon turned to incredibly doughy hands, followed by...SUCCESS.  It actually did what it said it was going to do...I was thrilled.  Thank you PC.  Now I just have to figure out what to do with the other half of the dough produced by these efforts...any suggestions?
After the dough was together, I rolled it out into a thin crust and spread some pizza sauce over most of it.  To top the pizza I used mozzarella and parmesan, pepperoni, onions on one side, black olives on the other, and sprinkled the top with a little Italian seasoning.  I threw it in the oven for 17 minutes and was very pleased the results.  I think it is better than Pizza Hut and a whole lot cheaper.

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!

Review: PC 29 Minutes to Dinner 2

I figure it may be helpful for my readers to get a summary after I "finish" cooking through a cookbook.  You know the usual what was good, what was not, and my general thoughts on the cookbook.  So what do I mean by "finish?" Obviously, it does not mean I will never pull out this cookbook again, but it does mean I have pretty well cooked what sounded good to me at the time I was meal planning. What sounded good was likely based on just that, but also on creating variety in my dishes (e.g., no pasta more than once or twice a month).  Note: I am doing this review based on the fact that I am moving on to another "primary" cookbook.  I will be cooking something from this one next week when basketball season gets going!

So here goes for the Pampered Chef's 29 Minutes to Dinner 2 (by the numbers):
56 - number of recipes in the book
13 - number of recipes tried thus far (way below my regular average per cookbook)
15 - number of recipes that would never make it in our household (again not a normal number)
28 - number of recipes left to try (that is exactly half - I did well in math...once)

Favorite recipes: Corn & Poblano Chowder, Mexican Sausage Skillet, Moroccan-Spiced Apricot Chicken with Couscous
Not so Favorite: Seared Scallops with Creamy Parsley Pesto

One of the things I do like about this cookbook is the simplicity of the procedures. This is really a beginner to moderate cookbook. Recipes like these go to show you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen to get great tasting and often sophisticated results.
Although the numbers don't mete this out, I would recommend this cookbook based on the variety of dishes.  You could literally tour the globe without stepping out your front door by cooking through this cookbook.  In fact, that is a great idea for menu planning next time - a different country each night of the week.  What do you think?

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!

Risotto

Yesterday was a lazy day for the record books.  As such, I was sort of proud of myself for dragging myself from the self-imposed title of "keeper of the couch" to make dinner.  My ambition knew many bounds, however, and so you are not reading about last night's dinner until this morning. 
I do have much to say about last night's meal from PC Season's Best (past season): Sun-Dried Tomato and Suasage Risotto.  First, this is officially the first time I have either eaten or prepared risotto (so I have nothing to base my review upon).  Second, this being the inaugural risotto, I would have liked for the instructions to have been more clear.  I know what you are thinking.  "Risotto takes lots of time over the stove and is delicate in nature" (at least, so I have heard).  Well, food snobs of the world, this one was done in the covered baker in the microwave (and goodbye all foodie readers, forever).  The problem was that the instructions did not say to cover the baker.  I know this sounds like a no brainer, given the name of the baker, but it, I assure you, is not (there are some recipes that do not require the use of the cover).   Thus, the cooking time was extended by quite a lot of minutes until I took matters into my own hands and covered the baker.  Very quickly after that I had risotto of the consistency you see on tv and was pleased to finish the dish and serve it to my husband. 
The result: very good, surprisingly so.  I was kind of expecting Drew not to like it, but he did.  He was not a fan of the tomatoes, but he did say that if it had stewed tomatoes, it might be better (love the feedback from him!).  It was truly a comfort food dish and a great one for early fall.  I think I would try some modifications in the future, but I might be spoiled on making risotto in the microwave and likely will not do it the "proper way" for some time.  Thanks PC for a great dish, a little more clear on the instructions next time, ok? 
Remember how I said my ambition knew many bounds.  Another of those was picture taking.  Sorry, readers, you will just have to imagine what it looked like.  After all, I had a couch to hold down.

Moo Shu (it's a good thing you don't contain duck sauce)

Long kitchen hiatus concluded.  Back in the Hudson house tonight, we had some Asian food to start off the week (yes, I know it is Tuesday)!  On the menu: PC 29 Minutes to Dinner 2 Moo Shu Pork with Mock Mandarin Pancakes. I love Asian food because of the flavors, but I love to cook Asian food because it takes so little time.  Tonight's dinner met both of these maxims for me.  The innovative use of flour tortillas as the "pancakes" turned out really good.  (Is it just me or is there always a "throwaway" while making pancakes?  If so, these are no exception to that rule.)  The filling for the pancakes, the moo shu, goes together quickly and your nose can basically tell you when it is done.  When your kitchen smells adequately Asian, you are done.  I also enjoyed the crisp-tender nature of the cabbage and green onions.  Drew must have enjoyed it because he had a second helping.  The only negative thing I can say about this dish is it is not very photogenic.  Sorry moo, there are just prettier dishes to be had.  Thus, the picture is at the end of the post.  I want you to love her for what is on the inside, not for what is on the outside.

See I told you!

A New Degree

In this world there are many degrees of fabulosity.  Many of these degrees are "new" degrees.  Ghetto. Retro.  Absolutely.  Well, I have come up with my new degree based on tonight's dinner: Starchy fabulous.  Tonight we tried PC's Loaded Baked Potato Chowder from the Season's Best for Fall/Winter 09.  I love potato soup in general.  It is one of those comfort foods for me that is always satisfying.  Drew tends to really enjoy it, too.  I think this is the first time I have ever made a potato soup.  I need look no further for recipes.  I loved how easy this one is to make and the flavors - starchy fabulous.  One of the things that makes this recipe so easy is the Covered Baker from PC.  You do the whole soup in the microwave in less than 30 minutes, including "baking" the potatoes.   I love the idea of putting broccoli in this to change it up next time.  This time, I just cooked up a little bacon, crumbled it, and sprinkled it on top. I ate way too much of this, but I didn't want to miss out on all the creamy goodness.  Mmm!  As my mother-in-law would say, "Put a star by that one!" 

Dinner with Friends

Tonight, we had the privilege of hosting some of our friends for dinner.  I had the special privilege of trying a new Pampered Chef recipe with my very own Pampered Chef!  Becky and Daniel came over and as soon as Becky got in the kitchen, we got to work on PC's 29 Minutes to Dinner 2 Skillet Phyllo Pot Pie.

I would describe this dish as classy with a comfort food feel.  I think it is definitely good enough for company, but it has all the flavors that remind you of fall (Thanksgiving, in particular).  This dish, as promised, goes together very quickly.  We served this with a "green salad."   On the technical side: I would definitely recommend making sure the vegetables are thawed completely before adding them to the pot pie mixture.  If you do not, the finished product can be a little less thick than you may desire.  Additionally, you could make a little roux before putting the rest of the ingredients in for a thicker result.  I enjoyed the phyllo dough "crust."  I think it is definitely worth the time it takes to work with such a delicate ingredient.  Drew thought it was good and I think Daniel and Becky enjoyed it too. 

We had a nice long conversation over dinner, then the guys went upstairs to play video games, while I cleaned up and talked with Becky.  Becky brought over some Mocha Hazelnut sweet rolls (yum!...and so easy) and we took them up to the guys for dessert.  A great night with great friends!  Looking forward to lots of friend dinners as we get geared up for fall!

Tos-tatas (thank you, Jim Gaffigan)

Tonight's dinner was pretty straitforward, which is always helpful.  I was so happy to have most of what was necessary to make it in my pantry.  After a quick trip to two grocery stores today, a came home and got started on this fast dinner. 
On tap for tonight: PC 29 Minutes to Dinner 2, Beef Picadillo Tostadas.  I learn a lot in the kitchen and tonight I learned not to mess with what you know to be good.  Don't get me wrong this recipe, for the most part, is really good and flavorful.  But I have discovered that what you enjoy on your tostata/taco today is what you will always enjoy on your tostada/taco.  It is like hot dogs - -I have been eating these with the same toppings since I was a young one - this is something that never will (nor ever should change).  Tonight, I learned the corollary to the hot dog Law is the aforementioned tostada principle.  That said, I learned this through putting exactly (well almost) what PC told me to put on my tostada.  I say almost because I don't know who in their right mind (or in this house) would put raisins in ANYTHING!  So those weren't even on the shopping list.  Additional toppings I will not put on a tostada in the future: tomatoes (not that they made the cut this time), lettuce, and black olives (as much as it pains me to say so).  Acceptable toppings will forever and always be: cheese (any kind - ok, not parmesan), guacamole/avocado, onion, and cilantro.  The thing I would change about this recipe beside the optional toppings is one of the steps/less of an ingredient.  I would either make sure the ground beef, once browned, is extremely well drained or I would use less salsa.  The mixture, even though I strained it before putting it on the tostada shells, was VERY wet. 

On another note, I have decided to try to include pictures of the actual food for your enjoyment.  This is the result of reading my first two food blogs composed by writers far beyond my literary ability.  Though I cannot strive to write in any other way than you have already experienced (i.e. parenthetical), I can treat you to pictures.  Enjoy!

Short, unexpected break from blogging done.  Moving on to new recipes and new days.  Let's see...what have you missed?  I have a small problem this time of year (it does happen every year, but somehow it seems to smack me up side the head with shock each time)...I call it hibernation.  My body, literally shuts down into this sleep that is as close to death as possible.  I am sure my heart almost stops, I awake feeling drugged (a la roofies - is that the way you spell it? - although I have never taken them) and barely able to function for a good long while.  My parents, as well, are shocked and appalled by this every year, Drew has never not known this of me, so it does not bother him (more time on the computer for him); but I have come to discover it is allergies.  So, taking claritin everyday is the solution (sort of) as well as lots of rest.  I haven't had a nap today because I was busy with Bible study and bargain hunting (these are separate activities, mind you).   There is a sort of high that comes with shopping and spending a ridiculously small amount of money for what you get (this must be the reason I am still functional at this hour). 
As for our dinners the last couple of days, we have been on survival mode for the most part.  We had frito chili pies one night (it doesn't get much easier than that but Drew likes them) and grilled cheese and soup another night.  But I did try a new recipe yesterday, from PC 29 Minutes to Dinner 2: Chile Relleno Strata.  This is one of the few meals in either of the 29 Minutes incarnations that does not meet the time requirement (at least in my kitchen).  It took a good 35 to 40 minutes (did I mention I am having trouble functioning while awake?).  I really liked the flavor of the dish (chorizo is a happy food for Drew - he has a favorite breakfast with chorizo at a little spot in La Jolla).  I threw in some serrano peppers because of my husband's love for spice (mentioned here: http://thereliquiarium.blogspot.com/2009/09/burn-or-how-i-learned-to-love-heat.html).  The one negative thing I would say about the dish is it is a little bready (yes that is a word in my world).  Drew described this same thing as "heavy."  I think this problem could be solved by swapping out the bread to a lighter bread, say brioche (maybe its just me, but I think the angels in heaven feast on brioche when they are hungry - not that they are hungry - should I just say brioche is divine?) . 
On a scheduling note, check in tomorrow night to find out how I plan my menus for the month.  It is by no means a science, but I have a little practice and trial and error is my forte!

First Day of Autumn

Can you believe we have officially entered Fall?  This is my favorite season and I have been working hard around the house to get it fall ready (decorations and such).  In honor of the begining of a new, hopefully cooler season, I decided to make comfort food with a twist.  Tonight's dinner was South of the Border Meatloaf from (you guessed it) Pampered Chef Seasons Best for this Fall/Winter.  Here's the review:

Wonderful flavor!  Love the idea of mixing the rub in with the ketchup to make (say it with me)... flavored ketchup.  I modified this a little bit to add more spice by putting half a serrano pepper into the mix.  Awards go to the PC covered baker for making this dish something easy for a weeknight.  A little story to let you know how my day went: I fell asleep while sitting down watching tv at 4:30 PM and Drew woke me up at 7:00 PM, yes 7:00.  I felt like I had been drugged (we think I had an allergic reaction to something I was working with today).  So I slowly extracted myself from the couch (with much effort) and got to the kitchen to make dinner.  It took around 35 minutes from the time I got in the kitchen until dinner was on the table.  I paired this meatloaf with seasoned steamed zucchini.  One note for this recipe, I don't know what I did to make it not stick together enough, but the meatloaf was definitely missing its LOAFNESS (new word for the day).  It ended up being really crumbly - still tasty, but crumbly.  HELP!  Do my readers have any tips for the perfect meatloaf?  Post a comment, I am always looking for new tips!

Ham and Swiss Calzone

Tonight's dinner is from PC Season's Best and it is called Ham and Cheese Calzone.  Here's the review:

Simple ingredients, more healthy than it sounds.  Goes together pretty quickly and gives enough time to clean up the dishes while it is in the oven.  Makes more than enough for 2, but I am looking forward to leftovers in for the next couple of lunches.  Drew said, "It was good, it worked out well."  I guess that means he noticed how easy it was to put together.  I must say I really am starting to enjoy my PC Bar Pan.  For the uninitiated, it makes really great crisp crust for dishes like calzone and pizza.  Paired this with a simple salad and viola...dinner.

As a side note regarding future posts.  I am about to finish (for the time being) the Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner 2.  I will be posting a review post in a week or so with my overall thoughts on this cookbook.  Something to look forward to!

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!

And you will know her by the trail of pans...

The status of tonight's dinner is questionable because I have a number of factors at play.  It is Thursdays with Morgan, but I have to pick her up late from school.  I also have a party tonight for my first Southern Living at Home Consultant!!!  So, either Drew and Morgan are going to get dinner at SouPlantation, or I will get something at the grocery store so we can all eat together before I go, or I will make something.  I think the latter two options are less likely than the former.
That said, I have spent the last 30 minutes trying to post a picture to the top of my blog only to find out I cannot do this given the format of blog I chose.  So, I will post the picture here for your enjoyment:

Those items displayed (so lovely and new) on my kitchen countertop are my new Pampered Chef pans.  I got them because I hosted a party in August and it went well.  They had a special for hostesses to get the pans for 60% off and I was in need of new pans.  I went with a set of stainless and a set of nonstick and a stir-fry pan, because we love Asian food!  Although I have cooked in stainless before, I was a little nervous about creating an incredible, sticky mess.  Well, these pans clean up so nice and they cook pretty good too.  I have to keep reminding my self to preheat them properly because my previous pans were so thin they heated up quick.  Time is a small price to pay for even cooking and easy clean up.  I used the 10" skllet last night for the pork chops.  The nonstick set is very nice, as well.  I used the small stockpot for the soup a couple of nights ago and found it to be the perfect size for a couple servings of soup.  But I have to say my favorite thus far is the stir fry skillet - I love its size and shape.  The heating is truly even, which helps when (get this) stir-frying (it seems that chef knows what he is doing).  

Here I offer again my hearty recommendation of all things Pampered Chef, including the pans.  Becky does not pay me to mention her name, but if you need anything, check out her website: www.pamperedchef.biz/cookingwithbecky.  

Maybe I will make this a semi-regular post to let you know my current favorite kitchen gadget. What do you think? Post a comment and let me know if this interests you and what your current favorite gadget is.

Fancy, schmancy...easy, peasy (cliche, anyone?)

Tonight's dinner was pretty good.  Could have had one more item to it, to make it more filling (my fault, should have trusted my gut - haha, like the pun?).  Thankfully, we had a coupon for BOGO McFlurries and they have a new one with Reese's peanut butter cups (yes, Drew will eat this - he is very selective with his preferences of dessert - he is a veritable moving target for desserts) and we supplemented dinner with dessert (an unhealthy one at that!).  I made Brandied Dijon Pork Chops from PC 29 Minutes to Dinner 2.  The rundown follows:
Drew picked up some very nice pork chops from Jensen's (definitely recommend their meat department) and the rest of the items on the ingredient list were pantry items, so it is a great *cheap* dinner.  I think it would break down to $6.00 total for the 2 of us to eat tonight.  Very nice flavor on the sauce, I did sub out the brandy (not because I think it would be bad, but because I didn't have a chance to run to BevMo to get "testers" - ok so maybe a was a little skeptical) for a little more chicken broth.  The presentation is very tah-dah, so it would work well for dinner with friends.  This would work nicely even when having company on a weeknight, as it is lightning fast.  We cut it in half because we are not gluttonous, despite the aforementioned dessert.  You could increase the recipe very easily and still have great results.  I paired the pork chops with green beans.  I would put some sort of grain with dinner next time to fill out the presentation on the plate.  Great job PC!

New week, new soup

OK.  So I am back with a vengeance (probably due to the fact that I am listening to Eminem as I write this blog post - don't judge me!).  Back in the kitchen, undaunted by the mistakes of last week.  How do you bounce back from what is arguably the worst meal made in the last year?  You get back in the Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner 2 Cookbook and make dinner in less than 20 minutes!!!  The recipe tonight was Asian Beef Noodle Soup.  It was wonderful.  Here's the review:
Great easy meal.  Wish we had chopsticks to enjoy this fabulous meal.  We saw these really neat bowls at Crate and Barrel last weekend, they would have been nice for serving this soup (the tall one).

While making this dish, the smell took me back to my dorm days when our group of 4 senior roommates would make Ramen noodles every night (each of us had a different method for making ramen - I am sure there are millions of methods).  The broth thankfully, did not taste like ramen noodles.  Last year sometime I decided to try to have ramen - my old favorite (Oriental flavor) - what was I thinking - that stuff is NASTY!  Thus, I was pleasantly rewarded by this brothy soup when it did not taste like ramen.  Loved the idea in the recipe for stir-ins.  This provided "wife-sanctioned" additions to our dinner tonight.  I say this because Drew has this endearing habit of "spicing" up almost everything I make.  I attempt each time he heads to the spice cabinet not to take it as an affront to my cooking - sometimes I succeed.  Well tonight, I got to throw in some jalapenos for my heat-obsessed (read: HOT) husband and I think he was pleased.  I thought the broth itself had just enough seasoning, just the right amount of heat.  I would definitely make this again, if I made things more than once. 
I am actually considering this as the first course (sans beef) for a dinner party I have dreamed about since Drew and I moved in to our new home.  We have a large coffee table situation (2 tables shoved together) that would enable us to have a dinner party with 8 people - I dream of having everyone sit on pillows and eat Asian food.  How does that sound do you?  Comment to this post in favor of said dinner party and you just might get an invite.

Baking with Morgan

Well, it is that time of week again and Morgan is over to spend the night.  I really enjoy having Morgan over, its like getting to adopt a cool teenager for the day.  I get to make dinner with her and bake a dessert of some sort, make her breakfast in the morning and then get her on her way  to school.  For the record, I do know having a child involves more than just food; but since most of my life revolves around food, would you expect this to be any different?
So what did we make?  Chocolate Carmel Oatmeal Chews.  This is a PC recipe from a set of recipe cards.  The verdict:  Good.  I think we may have eaten them a little early because the recipe says to cool completely.  I would definitely increase the cooking time to get them a little crisper (just my preference).  Morgan put all the ingredients together and did the steps of the recipe, while I read the recipe to her.  She needs to work out those stirring muscles, but we have lots of Thursdays to practice.  I would recommend this when you are short on time, but need to make something for a group.  It is mostly made with pantry items and makes a lot.  Morgan says, "they were delicious."