Phoebe ("Pee-Bee")

Yesterday, we took Phoebe to The Big Sleep at the vet's office.
I am just now feeling stable.
I didn't cook all week.

We'd been worried about Phoebe for a few weeks, because she couldn't keep food down.
Otherwise, she seemed okay and happy, but she was losing weight and was less interested in eating.

During the past few days, it was obvious that the end was near, and I felt panicked that PeeBee would die when I was gone to work or was away for some reason. Ethan and I agreed that she was getting worse by the day, so we made a plan to take her to the vet on 10-27. Doubts were put to rest when we saw how weak and pitiful she was, especially on the day we'd decided upon. I was actually thankful that her health was so obsiously poor... all I could think was that we needed to get her to the Big Sleep and not let her suffer anymore.

The Holt Veterinary Clinic took care of us, very GOOD care of us (and Phoebe).
They made the sad experience bearable.

Ethan and I left feeling sad but okay, but I was shocked at the grief that awaited me when I got home. I had never imagined a home without Phoebe, without her toenail noises, her sighs when she goes to bed, and her presence while I get ready for work. Ethan, too, still felt sad.

I tried to go to work this morning, but couldn't stop crying. My loving "boss," Kathy, sent me home when she saw how sad I was. Ethan left work early, too. We spent the day together, mostly him listening to me talk about Phoebe. He was sad, too, though. Thank the Lord for bringing Ethan to me. He loved Phoebe like I did.

Phoebe was a wonderfully obedient and loyal dog. She was smart - and even funny sometimes. I often told her that she was my Favorite Girl, the Best Dog, such a Good Girl, etc.

She really was.

I Have a Gimp Knee

My left knee has gone twisted. It might be the sudden use of high heels after a summer of flip-flops. There is no other reason that my knee is broken besides the obvious reason that I have been on my feet (in heels) constantly since August 17th (minus the weekends of course).

Or maybe it is because I am now Thirty-Six Years Old. Could that be?

I have an ice pack on my knee right now. It is Ethan's ice pack leftover from his knee surgery. God bless me if I've truly broken my knee and need surgery. I hate these ice packs. They hurt and help at the same time.

Gotta go finish Ethan's dinner! Even as a gimp, I love cooking him dinner.

Forget Dinner For Now

School began last week.
Today was the 7th day of school.
It feels like the 68th day of school.
I am so-so-so tired every afternoon.

Is it because I am 36?

Walking Phoebe in the afternoon is truly a dreaded event.
Not because she is difficult, but because it means I have to walk down and up the stairs again.
And it is so-so-so HOT that just opening the front door for 4 seconds makes me start sweating.

I am watching Project Runway's new episode. Ethan is the #1 thing I look forward to each day, except for Project Runway on Thursdays. I don't care what Ethan does on Thursdays! As long as he lets me watch PR.

Jalapeno Bottle Caps!

I wasted no time in finding recipes for bottle caps and buying the ingredients. I couldn't wait to surprise Ethan tonight. There were a bunch of recipes online, but they all seemed to be mostly the same. I guess that is a good sign (?)!


Ingredients:


-2 cups sliced jalapeno peppers; I bought fresh jalapeno peppers and sliced them, but I think it would have been fine to use the ones in a jar.

-2 eggs
-1 cup beer
-1 cup flour
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp black pepper
-1 tsp chili powder
-1 tsp garlic powder
-oil for frying (I used canola, about a quart)



#1. Wet Ingredients in a Medium Bowl
Use a whisk to stir the eggs and beer.

#2. Dry Ingredients in a Large Bowl
Mix the flour, salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder with a fork.


#3. Oil in a Deep Pot
I read that the oil is supposed to be 365 - 380 degrees, but I don't have a thermometer. I just turned the burner to Medium/Hi and waited a while.

#4. Peppers into Wet Bowl, then Dry Bowl, then into Oil
I used a slotted metal spoon. I let the peppers soak in the liquid for about a minute and then scooped them into the flour mixture. They really need to be coated. Then drop them in the hot oil and you will see them sizzle!

They fry for a few minutes (5-10) and then you can see them turn golden. You really can't mess them up, because it's not as if you will get sick if they're not "done." Scoop them out onto a few layers of paper towels.

They were REALLY good. We ate them all. And tried not to think of how much oil was swimming around in our bodies.

Insalata Caprese (Capri Salad)

In Italy, this is considered a "starter" salad. It is supposed to whet the appetite. But we tend to make it bigger in the U S of A, more like a side dish (or even a main dish)!

It is a delicious dish, but you must eat slowly. ENJOY it.

The ingredients:
fresh mozzarella
ripe tomatoes, as sweet as possible
fresh basil leaves (from a personal plant/garden)
salt
pepper
olive oil

I wish I'd taken a picture of the beautiful salad I made last week. It was sooo good that I started eating it before I took a picture. Half of it was gone before I offered it to Ethan. I assumed he would NOT like Capri Salad, and thinking I'd eat it all, I half-heartedly offered it to him. He LIKED it, which was a blessing as well as a curse.

Galveston & Houston - July 1st thru 4th

We've eaten delicious FRIED food every meal for the last 3 days! And though we loved eating it, we're DONE with vacation food. Our stomachs hurt and we feel FAT.

Our favorite dish of the weekend was fried jalapeno peppers (sometimes called "bottlecaps"). We ordered and enjoyed these at a few different restaurants. Some were more battered than others, and we decided we like the jalapenos very slightly battered.

I want to learn to make them at home.

Stay tuned.

Pork Chops/Chicken with "Grilled" Onions & Green Peppers

This is a really delicious, simple, & healthy dinner. We both love this.

I buy about a pound of "protein," whether that be chicken breasts, pork chops, or whatever I can find (flank steak, etc.)
I also buy:
1 large sweet yellow onion and 2 bell peppers (green and/or red or yellow)
Cut the onion into strips and cut the peppers into chunks.
I cook the chicken/pork/steak in a skillet with salt & pepper and a sprinkle of olive oil. When it's browned, I put it in a bowl to "rest" (and cover it with foil). Then I put the onion and peppers into the skillet (don't rinse it!). They will cook nicely in the leftover chicken/pork/steak juices. You have to press the pieces down into the pan because they like to curl up. This is SO GOOD.

More than Dinner

Well.


It's just too difficult to document every meal I make for Ethan. I DO cook dinner for him most nights, and I enjoy it. But the pressure of photographing the stages of every meal... I can't take it!! I don't know why I thought that would be a good idea. (Yes I do, because I was so shocked by my own domestic skills that I decided to document them.)


Tonight, I didn't cook for Ethan. Earlier this week, I found a little stash of forgotten gift cards, including an Applebee's gift card that Paw gave us for Christmas. And today I called Applebee's take-out, and "got" Ethan a steak/mashed taters/grilled veggies dinner.


He was delighted to have a ready-made dinner waiting for him.


Then after he had finished, I didn't believe what he said...

He said, "Your steaks are a lot better than that one." I know a lot of people consider home-cooked food superior to restaurants, but generally I think that restaurants are experts at what they do, and usually do it really well. So this was a huge compliment! I usually just rub olive oil, salt, & pepper on the steaks and let them sit for a while - half an hour or so - then heat a skillet to "Hi" and sear the steak for 2 minutes on each side. Then I turn it down to medium until the steak looks ready. I'm not very precise about the second stage. When in doubt, I make a cut in the middle to make sure it's not bloody. I also have rubbed French's mustard on both sides of the steak (in addition to the olive oil) before searing it. It is pretty good!

Fresh Basil... and "Basil Cream Chicken"

Here is a picture of my very first fresh cut herb: Basil!

I found this basil plant at Whole Foods last week, on sale from local growers. It looked so pretty (bright green and full!) that I bought it for its sheer beauty and doorstep decorativeness. I told Mom about it, and she said, "Oh good! You can cook with fresh basil now." I thought "Huh? How do you cook with fresh plants?" But then today I found a recipe from allrecipes.com that calls for lots of fresh chopped basil. I cooked it tonight and we loved it!

www.allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basil-Cream-Chicken/Detail.aspx

part 1 ingredients:

1/4 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1 lb or a bit more chicken breasts, butter for pan;

part 2 ingredients:

1/2 cup chicken broth, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 4 oz. jar sliced pimento peppers (drained), 1/4 cup fresh basil (chopped), dash black pepper

Part 1:

Use two bowls - one for milk, one for breadcrumbs. Dip each piece of chicken in milk and then crumbs. Heat pan with butter (I also used olive oil). "Fry" the breasts in a little butter/oil until cooked through. Remove from skillet.

Part 2: Pour the broth into the "used" skillet. Bring to a boil, then add the cream, pimentos, basil, and black pepper. Simmer until ready to serve.

Pour the sauce over the chicken to serve. I also served it with noodles.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

A couple of weeks ago, Ethan told me he didn't want a heavy dinner. He said he'd been feeling a cold coming on. He asked me to just make chicken soup (he meant from a can). I decided that I'm 35 years old and can figure out how to make homemade chicken soup!

I found a simple recipe online as a starting point. Here is what I cooked. Ethan said it was one of my outstanding dishes.

4 cups chicken broth
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and cut into buttons
half an onion (sweet is better), chopped
a few teaspoons crushed or minced garlic (or the equivalent amount fresh)
teaspoon lemon pepper or similar seasoning
1 cup uncooked egg noodles, wide if you can find them
1 lb (or more) chicken breasts, cut into 1-2 inch chunks

Start by pouring the chicken broth into a stock pot or other large pot. Throw in the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, and lemon pepper. Cook on High burner until boiling, and then turn down to Medium/Low.

Brown the chicken chunks in a skillet. Salt lightly and pepper heavily.

When the chicken is cooked, throw into the big pot of broth and vegetables. I added water to the broth pot at this point, for more volume. Ideally the broth pot stays at a delicate boil.

Start the egg noodles on stove as directed on package. Drain and set aside when cooked.

After about half an hour of delicate boiling, the chicken and broth will be ready. Add noodles and turn burner to Low.

It should be ready!

I've Been Cooking All This Time. I Promise.

Well, a few weeks ago I stopped updating this blog. The problem was that my computer stopped updating my camera card. I have no idea why. Ethan checked it out and confirmed my diagnosis: my camera works, my computer works, but there is a glitch in between. So, having no pictures to post kind of depressed me, and I just stopped.

However, I've been cooking all this time. I even have lots of drafts ready to go (minus pictures). Who knows when I'll get the glitch figured out, so here I go.

Two things I made tonight that I've been wanting to try:

1. Jalapeno Avocado Taco Sauce (courtesty of my sister-in-law Ana)
This is a sauce that is meant for tacos, but can be used for a variety of things. When I tasted it at Ana's a few weeks ago, I pretty much treated it as a soup! You only need 4 ingredients.
- 12 oz jar jalapenos in vinegar (use about 1/4 the juice of the jar, so don't drain entirely)
- 2 large ripe avocados
- 1/3 block cream cheese
- 1-2 cups of milk
Put it all in a blender. Blend until smooth. I had to stop and stir a lot. I suggest putting the jalapenos in first, then the cream cheese. Start with 1 cup milk, and add more as you go.

2. Roasted Fresh Broccoli
Katie, a friend from work, was opening her lunch the other day, and when I saw what she was unwrapping, I almost asked her if I could have some. She had roasted broccoli: bright green and blackened around the edges. It might have been the first time in my life that I craved a fresh vegetable! I asked her how she prepares it, and it couldn't be easier.
Fresh broccoli (I bought crowns because they were on sale), olive oil, and salt. Spread cut florets on a cookie sheet, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt (I also sprinkled a bit of lemon pepper). 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

I just finished both of these, and both are absolutely delicious.

Poor Ethan. No Home-Cooked Dinner.

I lament that I haven't cooked Ethan dinner much this week. Friday... I cooked steak, but since my camera is broken, I have no picture to display. Saturday... I had to work, and then I took a big nap! Then I had my weekly Gloria's plans with Stacie, so poor Ethan had to find his own dinner. Neither he nor I can remember what he ate. Sunday... Ethan had double-header baseball games in Euless, and we ate at Fuzzy's afterward. Monday... I can't remember. I might have cooked... but no!! Ethan worked in Frisco at a Rough Rider game and ate there. Tuesday... Ethan worked a Rough Riders game in Frisco and ate at the game. Wednesday... I felt really sick/tired after work and Ethan did, too. He left early and bought dinner for BOTH of us at Chipotle! Thursday (tonight): I "cooked" a frozen pizza. Summary: I love Ethan, but sometimes I don't cook for him.

Almost a Week of No Dinners!

Starting last weekend, we had dinner plans, and were rarely home at night to eat dinner. I cooked spaghetti one night this week, and last night I "cooked" chicken salad. My mother found this recipe a few years ago, and cooks it every time all her chicks come back home to the nest! We all love it. It is a basic cold chicken salad with the addition of a few sweet ingredients. The recipe is from Hormel. When Mom cooks it, she makes a few adjustments, and then I made a few more adjustments. Here is the official Hormel recipe: 12.5 oz can chunk breast of chicken, drained (Hormel) 1/3 cup red grapes, cut in half 1/4 cup finely sliced celery 2 Tb. finely chopped onion 2 Tb. dried cranberries 2 Tb. golden raisins 1/3 cup salad dressing (Miracle Whip) 2 Tb. sliced almonds Changes: First of all, both Mom and I omit the onions. And we usually double the recipe - two cans of the chicken, plus more of everything else, etc. Ethan likes green grapes, so I use those instead of the red. And instead of buying cranberries and golden raisins, we just put a lot of "Craisins" in! For lunch tomorrow, Ethan will be eating leftover chicken salad wrapped in tortillas. (I have no picture, because my computer is failing to read my camera's memory card. I am hoping to remedy this problem soon.)

BBQ Turkey Baked Potatoes

I love making a baked potato into a whole meal. In the town where I grew up, there was a wonderful BBQ restaurant that served STUFFED baked potatoes. We often made a do-it-yourself version at home, using whatever leftover meat or chicken we had. A few nights ago, we ate stuffed baked potatoes. I used ground turkey as the "beef." The toppings were sour cream, grated cheese, green onions, BBQ sauce, and jalapenos. The first thing is to put the potatoes in the oven. They need to cook longer than anything else. I always forget this and get impatient with how long it takes to bake a good potato. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the potatoes in warm faucet water; rub off the dirt and yucky spots. Place each potato in the middle of a big square of aluminum foil. Sprinkle a bit of olive oil over each potato. Sprinkle salt and pepper over each potato. Then wrap the foil securely around each potato. Place into the oven to cook.

Next, fry up the ground turkey. I added a bit of salt and a LOT of pepper. I let it get a little extra-browned, because we both like crunchy ground turkey. Here is the warm potato and turkey just waiting for toppings. I didn't get a picture of those!

Steak-on-a-Stick, but in a pan

My Kroger fixes up some wonderful meals-on-a-stick in the meat department. There are two versions: chicken kabobs and steak kabobs. Both have about 4 huge chunks of meat on each stick, plus slices of bell pepper (red, yellow, & green) and onion. When one of these is put on Manager's Special, I snatch it up quickly.

I found the steak ones today. I bought two "sticks" worth, and you see in the pan how much there is! I used the new grill pan. I cooked it my usual way, first with high heat to sear and then lower for a few minutes. I could tell the meat was getting tough, so I stopped cooking. However, Ethan said that they were a little too pink inside. I got frustrated! Usually the sear method works. Ethan said I should cook these on lower heat for longer and let the heat dissolve the toughness. I'll try that next time. The peppers and onions were DELICIOUS. The meat was still good, just a weird combination of not done and overcooked!

New BBQ Chicken Recipe

I am in the process of cooking a brand-new recipe tonight. Since I bought a bottle of BBQ sauce for the baked potatoes Monday night, I wanted to find another recipe that would use the rest of it. We don't use BBQ sauce on a regular basis, and our refrigerator is pretty small, so I hate having "extra" bottles just taking up space.

I went to my favorite recipe website, allrecipes.com, and plugged in "chicken breast" and "barbecue sauce" and it brought up plenty of recipes. I chose the simplest one: chicken breasts, barbecue sauce, and sliced onion. I added some hot wing sauce for a little kick.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. While preheating, slice the onion. I used about half a big onion. In a bowl, mix up about a cup of BBQ sauce and whatever extras you'd like: spices, honey, etc. Then you pretty much just place the chicken in a baking dish, cover it with sliced onion, and pour the sauce mixture on top.

Cook at 400 degrees for 45 minutes/one hour.

Serve with rice!

Chicken Parmesan

Okay, I didn't cook this tonight. Ethan and I had a night out. We first went shopping to get new flip-flops and check out sales at a few stores around here. We saw Gordon Biersch in the same shopping center, and decided to eat there as our last stop.

We ordered calamari as a starter. It was delicious. It came with both a marinara and a wasabi dipping sauce. We gobbled it up. You can see its almost empty plate in the background of the picture.

Then they brought the food: Chicken Parmesan for Ethan, and Lobster Bisque for me. We didn't even talk while we were eating. I asked Ethan for a little taste of his, and he offered a few bites... it really was heavenly. My lobster bisque was equally decadent.

This is our new favorite "fancy" food place! It was a bit more expensive than our normal restaurant fare, but 100% worth it.

Chicken Pie

Chicken Pie is a regular recipe in our household, pretty much since we got married. This recipe came from my sister Mary, and it came from her friend Carley. I don't know where Carley found the recipe!

It is so simple. The only "hard" thing is cooking the chicken!

There are 4 main ingredients (plus salt & pepper):

- 1 to 2 pounds chicken, whatever pieces you like, cooked and cut into 1" or 2" (inch) pieces

- two 10 oz packages frozen vegetables (this is your choice... we like bell pepper & onion)

- half-a-jar of Alfredo Sauce (I buy Classico Light)

- two pie crusts (from the frozen foods section)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the pie crusts on the counter to thaw (leave them in the foil pans).

Cook the chicken in a skillet. Add salt & pepper while cooking.

While chicken is cooking, thaw the frozen vegetables by putting them into a colander, turning on the faucet as hot as it will go, and let the hot water "rain" on the veggies in the sink. Shake them around pretty well after the hot water thaws them.

Once vegetables are thawed, put them in a big mixing bowl. Pour the alfredo sauce over until covered (from 1/2 to whole jar). Stir it up. Add some pepper.

Once the chicken is cooked (cut it up if you haven't yet), pour it into the bowl with vegetables and sauce. Stir it up really really well.

Pour the chicken/veggie/alfredo sauce mixture into the "bottom" pie crust. It works well to have a cookie sheet underneath! Layer the "top" pie crust over it all.

Cook in the oven 20-30 minutes (make sure the top pie crust is golden).

Spicy Turkey Nachos

One of my recent "Manager's Special" finds was ground turkey for sale at half-price. I bought all they had (just 3) and froze them. Then I kind of forgot about them!

Last weekend, I found my frozen turkey stash. Ethan likes spaghetti made with turkey instead of beef, so that was an option. But we both decided that homemade nachos with spicy turkey sounded better.

Here are the ingredients for this "recipe:"

1 pound cooked ground turkey (cook in skillet - add salt & pepper)

tortilla chips (we use Kroger brand)

salsa (about half a jar)

black beans (can use up to a whole can if you want)

sliced jalapenos to taste

1-2 packages grated cheese (choose the flavor you like)

(Cook the ground turkey until browned. It's okay to let it get toasty.)

Put the chips on a cookie sheet.

Layer everything else on top. The order doesn't really matter.

Cook in a 300 degree oven for long enough to melt the cheese.

Tongs

My new cooking career is completely dependent upon my favorite tool: my tongs.

I don't know where I got them. My cooking utensils were purely decoration for so many years. I didn't buy them, and I can't remember whose hand-me-downs they were.

A few months ago, once I started truly cooking, I came to depend upon my trusty tongs. They easily flip meat, chicken, and pork.

But I have only one pair!

If you try to buy tongs nowadays, you will only find the springy tongs that squeeze to grip the food. No one carries the old-fashioned scissor style tongs anymore. Believe me, I tried last week. I was willing to pay premium for them, too. After searching everywhere from Williams Sonoma to Ross, I found the tongs online. They are Ekco brand, available at Shop World Kitchen.
And, since they are only $1.99 a pair, I bought 4! This way, a pair will always be clean. And I can share with friends and family who might care to borrow the tongs.

Steak... It's What's For Dinner

Yesterday I went to Williams Sonoma to "spend" a gift card. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I knew I needed a good skillet/frying pan apparatus.

It was one of those times you see it and "know." I found a $99 deal for two Calphalon 12" skillets (one plain and one with grill marks).






I am thrilled. Nice pans are so much easier to use. And more fun to use.

I also found a good steak on sale today at the grocery store.

We don't have a place to grill outside, so I've successfully cooked steak in the oven a few times using an iron skillet. But last night, of course, I wanted to use the new grill pan.



I adapted the procedure that I've used for the iron-skillet-in-the-oven steak. I turned the burner on high to get hot before I started. Then I dripped some olive oil and salt & pepper on the raw steak and rubbed it in. Then I put the empty pan on the burner for a minute or two to "preheat." I used my tongs to lay the meat across the grill pan.








I let it "fry" for 2 minutes, then flipped it to the other side for 2 more minutes. After that, I turned the burner down to medium and flipped the steak back to the original side for 2 minutes. Then flip and cook 2 more minutes. I have to talk myself out of letting it cook longer, because it just gets dry.

After trying last night's "grill" steak, we both agree that we like the iron skillet/oven method better. You preheat the oven to High Broil (scary hot). Once it is fully preheated, place an empty iron skillet on a middle/bottom rack. You must leave the skillet in there for 15-20 minutes. While you're waiting, coat the steak with olive oil and salt & pepper. Open the oven door and use tongs to place the steak in the center of the skillet. It's not a bad idea to stand back and wear oven mitts. Set the timer for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, you must flip the meat. You can either use tongs, or pull the whole pan out (use double oven mitts) and set on the counter to flip it. Either way, let the steak cook in the oven for 2 minutes. After those two minutes, turn the oven down to 500 degrees. Flip the steak to the original side for 2 minutes again (3 minutes if it's a thick steak). Finally, flip the steak for the last time for 2 more minutes (3 if thick). It should be ready!

Campisi's at Home

A few months ago, I found a wonderful feature of my grocery store (Kroger):

Manager's Specials. In every section of the grocery store, you can find a little "pocket" of all the foods with tomorrow's expiration date. For example, in the meat/poultry department, there is one shelf with chicken and steaks, etc. that are half-price. There is a shelf with all the half-price lettuce. The catch is, you have to use it within a few days (or freeze it). I like to shop the Manager's Specials, because it forces me to be creative with what I find each time.

The deli has a little Campisi's section with pre-made pizzas. I recently found that many of these pizzas are put half-price right before the "Buy Buy" date. Perfect if I know I'm going to cook it that night.

I found a good sausage/hamburger Campisi's pizza for Ethan's dinner. We also had some summer sausage and canadian bacon. I decided to try to "fry" a bit of this as extra topping since it was just sitting in the fridge. I just threw a few slices of each in a skillet and turned it on high. They browned up quickly. Ethan added them onto the cooked pizza. I also threw together his simple salad.

(By the way, I cooked the pizza in the oven... I used the frying pan to remove it from the oven without burning my hands.)

Ethan's Eating Wangs for Dinner

Ethan called after work to ask/tell me that he wanted to meet one of his baseball buddies at BWW (Buffalo Wild Wings). Remember, it's Wing Tuesday. Of course, I said, "Go and have fun," because 1. he really does love BWW, and 2. he and his friend seem to have good life-conversations when they're there.

(I must give BWW a plug here, because their locations offer everything Hooters does, EXCEPT the "sexy" waitress thing. BWW has unisex tasteful outfits for the staff, equal male/female ratios, and absolutely no "sexy girl" posters or ads inside. Ethan can eat wings, play trivia, and watch sports on 100 big-screen TVs all night. I appreciate that BWW is a chain willing to do this.)

So I am home alone with no food to cook! I again was in Waxahachie this afternoon, and Mom gave me some tamales that I'll put in Ethan's lunch. I have no business in the kitchen tonight. Which means I can catch up on dishwashing, laundry, and fingernail-painting while he is gone.

I am on Spring Break this week, and have been using it to transport lots of extra boxes that have been taking up space in our apartment to a storage unit. It has been soooo relieving to pack my car with all of these boxes. Before we got married, I had a teeny apartment with just enough space for me & my things. Then Ethan moved in and brought his things. We were so giddy that we didn't really notice all the boxes and STUFF piling up. Then we noticed it, but didn't care. Then we started to care. And though his boxes were the ones piling up, my belongings needed to be edited so that we could integrate his things into the closets and cabinets.

We rented a storage unit and it has been so liberating. "Do you want to keep that?" "I don't know, let's put it into storage." "Will we need that?" "Maybe, but let's put it in the storage unit for now."

Whheeeewww!

Variations on Mashed Potatoes

I didn't exactly cook dinner for Ethan tonight. I was in Waxahachie this afternoon, and Mom, Dad, Mary (and her kids) and I ate an early dinner. Mary put together the chicken and I made the mashed potatoes. I seem to have a special talent for mashed potatoes, because that is always what I'm asked to contribute to family meals.

Today, we used red potatoes. We just washed them well and left the peel on. We boiled them in salty water until tender enough to mash. I decided not to use a hand mixer this time, and just used a sharp knife to slice/mash them to pieces. I added a little butter, a little salt, and pepper. Mom & Dad had some homemade Hidden Valley Ranch dressing in their fridge, so I added some of that and stirred it all up. It was really good! I probably should have stopped there. But I decided they needed some onion. Dad grabbed some fresh shallots and chopped them. We all agreed that was just too much. Maybe a bit of green onion would have been okay.

Anyway, some other mashed potato additions are cream cheese, crushed garlic, parmesan, sour cream, or dill. I never use all of those at once, but it is fun to experiment. The main advice I give is to make sure all the ingredients are added when the potatoes are at their hottest, as soon as you drain them. And if you do use a mixer, barely use it on low speed just enough to mix the ingredients.

I don't have a picture tonight!

Pot Roast!!!

My mother LOVES Martha Stewart. Mom always is ready to try the newest Martha idea.

Several years ago, I invited some friends to come over for dinner - girls AND boys - and Mom was very worried about what I was going to cook. I was still single, and there were some eligible bachelors in the group coming over for dinner.
Early that morning, Mom and Mary (my sister) just happened to stop by my apartment. Hmmm. They had some groceries. Hmmm. And they asked where I kept my Crock Pot. Hmmm. Mary started cooking, and Mom started cleaning.

They loved me and wanted to help me in my entertaining endeavors. The delicious dish they created was Martha Stewart's Simple Pot Roast. I have made it many times since then!

Martha Stewart's Simple Pot Roast

3 lb pot roast meat (it can be less or more - as long as it fits into your crock pot!)
salt
pepper

4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks (I have used baby carrots before)
5 or 6 red potatoes, cut into chunks (peel if you want to)
1 large onion, sliced (I use yellow or Vidalia)

2 dried bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup


Put the carrots, potatoes, and onion in the Crock-Pot. Sprinkle on salt & pepper to taste.
Sprinkle the thyme on top of that, and place the bay leaves on.
Put the hunk of meat on top. Rub it with salt & pepper.


Pour the can of soup directly over the middle of the meat. It will spill over the edges.

Turn the Crock Pot on low for 8 hours, or high for 6 hours.


You will LOVE it!

Friday Pizza

We are watching Criminal Minds reruns again. I am going to be so sad when I have seen all the episodes. I can only type during commercials.

We both got home later than usual tonight, so it was frozen pizza. I've been trying different brands and flavors, partly because I like to buy what's on sale and also because I hate being in ruts. I saw a new box of pizza in the Kroger freezer this week: Newman's Own brand. It hails itself as all-natural, which even though might be a stretch, is still better than most frozen pizzas' lists of ingredients.

I added sliced jalapenos before putting it into the oven. Ethan just finished and said he loved it.

Last Night's Dinner and Tomorrow's Lunch

First, I need to retro-post last night's dinner. I cooked a version of our new favorite chicken/salsa/rice dish. Ethan got home late - close to 8, so I had it ready right when he walked in.



I did the recipe a little differently: I used tons of salsa, I used leftover red, orange, & yellow bell peppers, no green chilies this time, added chopped jalapenos, and cooked the rice separately.







Oh, I also used Success rice instead of Uncle Ben's. It has a very different texture, but we both agreed that we like the brands equally.




Now... I am going to try something new: Green Bean Casserole. Ethan loves this, and I've never cooked it for him. However, I am not going to use the cream-of-chicken/cream-of-mushroom recipe. I try to avoid canned soups because of the unavoidable MSG. It really affects me (and I think it might give Ethan headaches). I found a recipe that uses some fresher ingredients.





Here it is:

butter to coat pan
1 cup chopped onion
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup half & half
salt
pepper
1.5 pounds fresh green beans (washed and ends cut off)
2/3 cup crushed croutons
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
butter (melted)


Use a big pan - skillet or saucepan. Medium heat. Melt butter.
Add onions and cook about 10 minutes (don't burn them).
Add the chicken broth and bring to boil (I turned burner up to High).
Once it really starts boiling, turn off heat and let simmer.
Stir in the half & half plus salt and pepper.

Turn oven on Preheat to 350 degrees.
Use big pot to boil water for the green beans.
Throw green beans in the boiling water.
Boil for 5 minutes.
Drain the green beans.

In 9x13 pan, put green beans and then pour the onion/half & half mixture.

Stir it all up.

On top, put croutons and walnuts.









Bake 15-20 minutes in the 350 degree oven.

Spicy Pork Chops

Well, truthfully, Ethan is eating dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings tonight. It is "Wing Tuesday," which means the chicken wings are cheap! Besides the cheap wings (we like to call them 'wangs'), Ethan truly loves playing Buzztime Trivia. I was supposed to go with him tonight, but am feeling some allergy/sinus crud. I changed into jammies and glasses at about 6:30 tonight.

But in the fridge, I had some pork chops (boneless) that were getting a little close to their expiration date. I needed to cook them tonight... which means both Ethan and I would have tasty lunches tomorrow.

I'd searched earlier for a simple recipe online to cook the chops, and found a good combination of spices to "rub on" that I'd never tried before. The only spice that was out-of-my-ordinary was Fresh Sage Leaves. I had a little anxiety about finding fresh sage leaves, but turns out my Kroger has lots of fresh-cut spices in the produce department for under $2 a pop*.




Here is the spice combination:



1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 big teaspoon paprika
1-2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves*



Plus you need 4 center-cut boneless pork chops (that aren't frozen).

Use a plate or dish or big bowl to mix up the spices. Stir them up with some olive oil (a splash).

With tongs (or your hands if it doesn't gross you out), rub the chops all over in the spice/olive oil mixture. Be sure to turn each chop over and keep rubbing until the spices are absorbed.



Heat up a skillet (high heat).

Using the tongs, place each chop into the skillet. If there might be some extra spices or oil left, scrape those in there, too.







Leave the chops on the same side for about 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip them over to the other side for another 2 minutes. This sears the edges so that the juices can cook inside.


Then turn down the burner to low-medium. Flip the chops another few times.

Pray that they're done. This is my method. I sometimes overcook because I get nervous about serving undercooked pork.

*The Fresh Sage Leaves I bought were way too much for the recipe. I chopped what I needed and squeezed the rest into a snack-size Ziploc bag, trying to make it airtight. I put it in the freezer. I don't know if this is the correct procedure for leftover fresh herbs. But it's worth a try.

No Dinner Again Tonight

Well, I didn't need to cook AGAIN tonight. Ethan had his first baseball games of the season, and afterward we went to an afternoon meal with his parents. Neither of us are hungry now. The only cooking I need to worry about now is making Ethan's lunch for work tomorrow.

Usually I make a good sandwich for him. I learned his favorite sandwich by trial & error. He likes wheat bread - the wheatier the better. Plain French's mustard: no Grey Poupon or fancy flavors (this one took me longer; for months I used all kinds of upscale mustards thinking I was impressing Ethan). A layer of lettuce. A layer of pickles. Pepper Jack cheese. And some form of turkey (or maybe ham or roast beef if I veer out of the routine). He always likes a banana and a yogurt in his lunch.

However, sometimes I prepare something in the Crock Pot before we go to bed. I really like doing this, because I dump the ingredients in, turn it on low, and go to bed. Then in the morning, I leave for work and Ethan is in charge of making his lunch, putting the rest in the fridge, and soaking the crock pot in the sink before he leaves for work! I've cooked all kinds of meats in the crock pot. Pot roast is easy, but I've also done chicken wings, pork chops, and macaroni & cheese.

I think I'll be making a sandwich for tomorrow. The deal we've worked out is that I make his lunch and he walks the dog in the mornings. I HATE walking the dog before work!

No Dinner Tonight

Ethan spent the afternoon with one of his buddies from the baseball team, and that included dinner. Which was fine with me, since I had to work this morning and felt a big nap coming on this afternoon!

I did complete a big domestic chore, though. I cleaned my oven... for the first time in my life. I've never USED an oven enough to dirty it up! I noticed a few weeks ago that every time I preheated the oven, a scary burning smell filled our little apartment. I thought the oven was broken at first. Nope. Just the nasty crud sizzling on the bottom of our oven. I knew for a fact that my oven was not self-cleaning, because I decided against the extra cost when I bought it (thinking I never use ovens anyway). I had to ask my mother: How do you clean an oven???? I had no idea that all I needed to do was buy some Easy-Off.

Except that spraying the Easy-Off and closing the oven door is a lot easier than actually coming back to wipe clean the oven. Eeeeewww. I almost threw up about 4 times as I was cleaning the crud out. I'm not going to go that long between cleanings again.

Friday Night Dinner... and Criminal Minds reruns!

Ethan and I loooove Friday nights without plans. We watch A&E's weekly marathon of Criminal Minds reruns. I try to cook something he'll look forward to, and tonight it was Salsa Chicken. I just found this recipe last week on allrecipes.com, and we both love it. (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Salsafied-Chicken-and-Rice/Detail.aspx)

I altered the recipe a little bit: I don't use any oil to cook the chicken, I use way more salsa than it calls for, I omit the cheese, and I add a can of green chilies. It really is a healthy recipe, basically chicken, salsa, and rice.

Pizza and Salad

Tonight I'm "cooking" frozen pizza (one of Ethan's favorite dishes) along with a simple salad. We keep a big bag of romaine lettuce in the fridge, and Ethan adds fresh parmesan and Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette. He eats this salad almost every night.

One of the funny stories about our first few months of marriage involves our different definitions of "a good salad." To me (and my family), a GOOD salad contains lettuce, tomato, cheese, and at least 6 other ingredients: maybe artichoke hearts, pine nuts, avacado, carrots, celery, croutons, cranberries, bell pepper, and LOTS OF SALT and pepper. I made this salad often for Ethan while we were dating and into the first months of marriage. At some point after we were married, and now I don't remember when, Ethan casually told me that he just likes simple salad. I didn't understand. ?? Simple salad? Huh?? He explained: green lettuce only, a bit of parmesan, and dressing. I was in shock. I tried to talk him into my version of good salad. He calmly gave the reasons, ingredient by ingredient, why he really hadn't cared for the fancy salads I'd been making. So, after I reflected upon all the months I'd prepared and served him the "wrong" salad (and calculated the cost of wasted ingredients!), I realized that having a husband who wants Simple Salad is a real blessing!

Banana Pudding = Happiness (but also weight gain)

Recipe for Excellent Banana Pudding:

8 oz. block cream cheese (let stand on counter before starting recipe)
14 oz. can Eagle Brand milk
5 oz. instant vanilla pudding (Jell-O brand)
3 cups COLD milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Half a tub of Cool Whip (let stand on counter before starting recipe)
4 bananas (*need to slice before starting recipe)
Half a box of Nilla Wafers

With a mixer, beat cream cheese; add Eagle Brand milk, pudding mix, cold milk, and vanilla. After those are blended, add half-tub of Cool Whip.

In a 9x13 glass dish, layer Nilla Wafers along bottom. Next, layer banana slices. Pour pudding mixture over top.

Chill before serving!

My First Post Ever

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