Thursday, August 27, 2009

Getting Back in the Swing of Things


Okay, so it's been awhile. Two kids, a dog, a husband, household chores, and working full time really fill my days...oh yes, and lets not forget the 3.5 hours a day I spend commuting to and from work. So, with that said I needed a little blogging vacation, but I'm back. I might not be back with a new recipe every day or even a post everyday, but I plan to share some good recipes and some crazy stories along the way. So, stay tuned as I start to share my adventures...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Just A Quick Broil

If you are looking for a quick meal that actually tastes good, this is it. A pork tenderloin is broiled on top of a bed of snow peas, red peppers, carrots and scallions. The tenderloin gets a little help from a drizzle of honey and the meal comes together with a soy sauce glaze.

I've been on maternity leave for a little over a month now and I have successfully made it through all my Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazines. I cut out the recipes I've either made or would like to make and put them in a binder. So much neater than the millions of magazines I had tucked in every nook and cranny in my kitchen. This recipe came from one of those magazines. I made it because it looked easy and was quite surprised with how good it turned out. I will definitely make this again. You can find the complete recipe HERE.

Friday, March 13, 2009

It's A Girl!

Slowly but surely I'll be back to the blogging world. I've taken a little break to spend time with our new baby girl, Abigail. She was born on February 7th and was just a little peanut. Luckily her brother has been a big help!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Snow, Snow and More Snow...

It's been awhile since I've posted and I've really fallen behind in my cooking and blogging about it these days. We have a lot of snow at home and this picture cracks me up so I thought I'd share. This is my 2 year old's (his birthday is tomorrow) first attempt at helping Daddy shovel. As you can see he got a face full of snow. That pretty much ended his outdoor play for the day!

After we finished the left overs last night I realized I completely forgot to take pictures. So, this recipe is without pictures but is definitely worth making. For Christmas we gave my sister a slow cooker and this recipe is adapted from one she recently tried:

Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers:

1lb lean ground beef
4 peppers--tops cut off and seeds removed
Large can of crushed tomatoes in puree
1 can tomato soup
1 cup water
1 package Spanish rice mix (I used Near East)
2 celery stalks chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 egg

Mix beef with rice (excluding the seasoning packet), celery, onion and egg. Fill peppers with this mixture. I find cutting the bottom of the peppers flat helps them stand up easier after being filled. Empty can of crushed tomatoes into crock pot. Arrange stuffed peppers on top. Mix soup with water and rice seasoning packet. Pour this over peppers. Cook in the slow cooker for 8-10 hours on low.

Sorry for lack of pictures but these were really good and made the house smell great!

Friday, December 5, 2008

Turkey Tetrazzini

To make use of some of our left over Thanksgiving turkey we decided to make some delicious Turkey Tetrazzini. I say "we" but it was really the man of the house who made this dish! My Nana used to make turkey tetrazzini all the time, I swear she'd roast a whole turkey just to make tetrazzini. She used spaghetti, but Emeril's recipe called for egg noodles. This dish wasn't exactly like Nana's, but it was definitely tasty!

Start by sauteing the red bell pepper and onions in butter in a large dutch oven. Add garlic, mushrooms, Essence, and thyme. Cook until mushrooms are soft...about 6 minutes. This part smelled great!
Sprinkle with flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add wine and chicken stock and cook stirring until smooth, about 2 more minutes. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

After the sauce has thickened add the cooked egg noodles, turkey, parsley, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Stir until mixed. Transfer to a buttered baking dish. And here comes my favorite part....
Cover the whole thing in crushed potato chips (for those of you who live in New England--my favorite kind of potato chips are Wachusett Brand. I really like their sour cream and onion, but we used their regular flavor here...they are small bags and are usually sold 2 for $3. Can't go wrong). Bake the whole thing uncovered at 375 for 3o minutes or until bubbly and golden brown! This was a winner at our house. We ate the entire thing! For the complete recipe, click HERE.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

BB; Mexican Chicken Soup

This week's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was Ina's Mexican Chicken Soup chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats. I have made other versions of similar soups in the past, but this one is probably the best. It was perfect for the rainy New England weather we've been having.
The soup starts with carrots, celery and onions sauteing in a pan. Let that go until the onions brown. Then add garlic for 30 seconds, then proceed and add tomatoes, chicken stock, jalapeno peppers, cumin, coriander seed, (I skipped the cilantro), and fresh corn tortilla strips. Let that simmer for 25 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, roast chicken breasts in a 350 degree oven. The recipe calls for bone in, skin on breasts, but after my husband went to two stores to find them with no luck, we used boneless, skinless breasts. They worked fine. After the chicken is cooked, shred and add to soup. I think the breaking down of the tortillas added to the depth of the soup. We ate this Monday night, Tuesday night and I brought a little for lunch on Wednesday. Thanks Judy for picking a great recipe for before Thanksgiving....easy and not too heavy!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

No Bake Chocolate Cookies

So, this isn't the prettiest picture and with it almost my bedtime (9pm...haha) this is all I'm going to upload. I needed a quick, finger type dessert option for Thanksgiving, and No Bake Chocolate Cookies came to mind. These are so easy and require no electric mixer or oven. Perfect for making while the little one is sleeping.

No Bake Chocolate Cookies:

In a sauce pan melt 1 stick of butter, two cups of sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and add 3 1/2 cups quick cooking oats, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Stir to combine and drop onto waxed paper covered cookie sheets. Let rest until set. Enjoy!
They are perfect with a nice gallon of milk!