It should not be this hard.

I have a handful of foods that I just can't master handle even begin to not utterly fuck up. And they're basic, too. Bacon, for example. Either completely burned or completely uncooked. I can't flip fried eggs to save my life. (Actually, breakfast foods in general tend to get the best of me).

Lasagna is another. It should be simple—sauce, pasta, filling, cheese, sauce, repeat, repeat, repeat. But for whatever reason, I can't deal with it. It's either too wet and falls apart, or I don't put enough sauce and it's dry and blech. I just...I can't do it, I don't know.

Anyway, that was just a tangent. What I intended to start with was that my little food processor has had quite the workout today.

I'm making all of E's food, so I figured I'd try and get a head start on the next week...so with the help of the processor and some new ice cube trays, I'm now stocked up on peas, carrots, green beans, and sweet potatoes. (We're also very slowly moving through banana and avocado. Peas we love, sweet potatoes we love. Feet kicking, baby-bird mouth wide open, spoon grabbing L-O-V-E...avocado, on the other hand, gets a clamped lip. Will. Not. Eat. Cracks me up.)

But I also came across a recipe on Pinterest for a Veggie Pesto Lasagna that looked delish, so the first step was making some pesto. A little birdie (the internet) told me that the best pesto is a bit coarser than the store bought mush you generally find (and I usually make), but instead of chopping by hand (please), I just added a bit lot less olive oil and pulsed a bunch of times until it was nice and coarse.

Pesto
It's not real scientific here:
A handful of pinenuts
A whole bunch of basil (maybe 2 cups? more?)
4 cloves of garlic, roughly sliced
About 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Sea Salt (a good pinch)
Olive oil (2 tbsp or so)

Combine all in food processor. Use accordingly.

Accordingly, in this case, is about 1/3 of a cup, so I have a ton left. I'll figure something out. But holy hell, my lasagna finally turned out. Even though I had to use cottage cheese instead of ricotta (don't ask why I was doing my cheese shopping at Target)...it totally worked.

Veggie Pesto Lasagna
12 no-cook lasagna noodles
1 jar marinara (I used a tomato basil)
2 cups cottage cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pesto
Thyme (about a tsp)
Oregano (about a tsp)
Sea salt
Fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces
Olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup shredded zucchini
Chili flakes to taste (I used a 1/2 tsp or so)

1 package baby spinach

Preheat oven to 375.

Saute garlic, onion and zucchini until soft. Add chili flakes, and gradually add spinach until wilted. Remove from heat.

In large bowl, combine cottage (or ricotta) with the parmesan, pesto, thyme, oregano, and salt.

Coat baking dish (I used a 9x13) lightly with cooking spray. Pour enough sauce to very thinly cover the bottom (1/2 cup or so). Arrange 4 noodles to cover (break off the corners if you need them to fit better). Spread half of the cheese mixture across the noodles (make sure and cover them all to make sure they cook well), then half the spinach mixture across the cheese. Arrange half of the mozzarella across. Top with 4 more noodles, and pour half of the remaining sauce. Repeat with remaining cheese, spinach, and mozzarella. Top with remaining 4 noodles and the rest of the sauce.

Bake for about 40 minutes, covered lightly with foil.

6-10 servings, depending on how you cut it.

Real Simple, indeed.

I'm sure you don't know this about me, but I'm kind of...lazy. (I'm also sarcastic. Just a little.) If there's a hard way and an easy way, hello...I'm going easy. I mean, I'm obviously willing to make an effort—this is a cooking blog, after all, not a 'Where Did Pam Drive Through Tonight' blog—but I'm the kind of girl who is just as happy with a 90% as with a 103%. They're both A's, people. And I got a lot of them. (Plus, without slaving over unnecessary extra credit assignments, I saved myself some drinkin' time.) Just sayin'.

So there I was, checking out at the grocery store, when this caught my eye:

Um, YUM. AND it's from a CROCK-POT? Sign.me.up. Needless to say, the magazine came home with me.

Me: (As I toss it on the table triumphantly) This? This is happening.
Hubby: Uhhhh, yeah it is.

The husband is always down for country food. He would eat biscuits and gravy every weekend if I agreed to make them he could. So anything resembling pot pie is going to be well received. And it was. And I'm happy to say that I was able to simplify an already simple recipe. Winners all around.

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom "Potpie"
1 package brown mushrooms, stems trimmed, cleaned and halved
One handful of small baby carrots
1 medium brown onion, chopped
1/3 cup white flour
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
About 1.5 lbs (three 8oz or four 6oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package crescent rolls (regular or the circular kind)
16oz bag of mixed frozen veggies (peas, green beans, carrots)
1/3 cup cream

Set up your crock pot. Combine mushrooms, baby carrots, onion, flour, thyme, bay leaf, about 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup water. Sprinkle chicken with more salt and lots of fresh pepper, and place on top. Cover and cook for as long as you've got, 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 on high.

When eating time approaches, cook rolls according to package directions until golden. About 15-20 minutes before the crock pot will turn off, stir in the frozen veggies, cream, another 1/2 to 1 tsp salt, and break chicken up with a fork a bit (it should pull apart pretty easily). Cover and let finish cooking.

Serve in a bowl with a roll on top.

More pumpkin. Yay!

I'm going over to my girlfriend's house this evening for a pajama and movie night...normally this group likes to drink, but at least three of us are currently knocked up, so we're going to do the next best thing-snacks.

I volunteered to bring caramel corn, which didn't turn out exactly as planned...but I am now bringing my new specialty, Creme Brûlée Corn.


There is a reason I hate my oven. And this is why. Luckily, I love burnt sugar.

In case the other ladies don't, however, I decided to bring a back up...and all I had in the house on hand was stuff for pumpkin muffins. Made in the toaster oven, thankyouverymuch. And quite delicious. Look at me baking. This is sooo the kid's fault.


Pumpkin Muffins
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup water
2 eggs
1 14oz can organic pumpkin
2 cups flour (I mixed white and wheat)
1 tsp baking powder
A little more than 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
Hershey chocolate rectangles (opt.)

In large bowl, mix sugar, oil, water and pumpkin. In small bowl, mix flour and other dry ingredients and spices.

Add dry ingredients into pumpkin mix, and mix gently until just combined.

Fill lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Insert one chocolate piece in the middle of each muffin, if using. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Makes 18 muffins.


-posted out of laziness from my iPhone.

Well, this was not what we expected.

Before yesterday, this was exactly how much I knew about chicken tetrazzini. Which, really, was plenty, because it's been an ongoing joke in our house for no particular reason other that it's just fun to say.



Is it southern? Is it pasta? Is it a casserole? Why is it named after an opera singer? I just don't know.

But what I do know is that this is some cheesy, delicious, keep-a-man goodness. Hubby took a bite, looked at me, and said exactly what I was thinking, "Well, I had no idea what to expect, but this was not it. Thumbs up."

Chicken Tetrazzini
2 tsp butter
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
large pinch fresh ground pepper
1 package sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup vermouth
1/4 cup flour
1 and 1/3 cup chicken broth
1 cup grated parmesan
4 tbsp reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 box vermicelli or thin spagetti noodles (8 oz)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked (375 for 25 min. or so)

Break pasta in half. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook pasta about 4-5 minutes. When done, drain. Chop the cooked chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside.

Melt butter in a large pot (make sure it's big...a stock pot or dutch oven will work well). Add onion, garlic, celery, salt, and pepper. After about a minute, add mushrooms and peas, and stir fry everything for about 4 minutes, stirring often. Add vermouth and cook about a minute.

Add flour a bit at a time, stirring constantly. It's going to get crazy thick and will seem impossible, but keep whisking and stirring and try and get out all the lumps. After a couple of minutes, add broth slowly, stirring constantly. It should still be really thick, so bring to a boil then reduce to low and still stir often, making sure the lumps are gone, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add in cream cheese and parm cheese, stirring gently until melted.

Rinse drained pasta, and add to mixture. Add in chicken, and stir everything until combined. It will take awhile...make sure all is coated and evenly mixed.

Coat a baking dish with cooking spray, and pour in the mixture. Cook at 350 for 30 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

Jamie's Spicy Meat Gumbo

I know I teased more Jamie recipes last week than I actually posted about...but that was for your own good. Beer Butt Chicken was fine (and very juicy, even though I was worried my prehistoric oven over-cooked it), but nothing earth shattering...although Hubby has since insisted it was worth posting about. Maybe if I use a better rub next time. I'll keep you posted. As is, my favorite part is that it looked more than slightly inappropriate before and after cooking:


Heh.

I also made Zucchini and Couscous Salad...it made a ton and, over the course of a couple days, I ate a ton...but to be honest, it's pretty similar to my Greek Chicken and Quinoa Salad, and I prefer the latter. It was good, but something was missing for me.

Yesterday, however, I attempted one of his Gumbo recipes...and it's worth sharing. There were a few changes I had to make: his version calls for sweet potato and fresh herbs, all of which I was out of, but omitting the potato was fine, and dried thyme and bay leaves worked just as well. I also added the hot sauce, since my cayenne pepper seemed a little questionable, and used beef broth instead of chicken. Served over some white rice and we pretty much destroyed it. It was hard to just have one serving. (But I did. It's not exactly low-fat.)



I'm not going to lie and say this is an easy one...I mean, it's not difficult, but it does take time (About 2.5 hours, AKA way more than I anticipated—otherwise I would have done it on a weekend). Just pay attention to it and, as Jamie says, 'dedicate a bit of love' to it.

Also, and this is gross...I'm recommending you take the skin off the chicken either from the start or after you brown it. Between that and the bacon and sausage, I skimmed off a good 1/2+ cup of fat/attached broth while it cooked. It took forever to do, and liquid fat is just nasty to deal with.



Meat Gumbo
olive oil
1 package bone-in chicken thighs (about 6)
S&P
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or about 2 tsp Frank's or other cayenne sauce)
3 spicy sausages, thickly sliced (I used the Spicy Louisiana flavor)
4 slices of smoked bacon, chopped roughly
Large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 stalks celery, trimmed and diced
3 tbsp flour
6 cloves garlic
leaves of 6 thyme leaves, or a little less than a tsp dried
4 bay leaves
6 cups broth
green onion to top

Season chicken with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne. In a large pan (You need a big one), heat a bit of olive oil (I'm sure spray would have worked fine), and add the chicken, sausage and bacon. Let brown a few minutes over high heat, then flip and stir fry it all around for about 10-15 minutes or until everything is a little golden. Reduce heat to medium high and remove chicken from pan and place on a large plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.

The pan should have a bunch of drippings in it by now, so just add the veggies (onion, bell peppers, celery) and saute about 10 minutes (move it around a bit occasionally).

In the meantime, pour yourself a drink, grab a book, tune the station to something you like. Cause you're about to be stuck at the stove for awhile. Add the flour, and start stirring; slowly but very often is good. Jamie says it should be at least peanut-butter dark by about 10-15 minutes, but mine never got that dark, and I cooked it about 25 minutes. So...aim for darker than lighter, and cook between 10 and 30 minutes.

Stir in the broth, bay leaves, thyme, garlic, and a bit more pepper. When it comes to boil, reduce to a low boil (medium low heat or so), and cook about 45-60 minutes, stirring once in awhile. When it's ready, the chicken will easily pull off the bone.

When you're ready, remove the chicken from the pot, pull off all the meat, and return just the meat to the gumbo. Season to taste with S&P and hot sauce.


He says this serves 6-8...I say closer to 8. But Jamie loves his fat-kid portions. About 245 cals (plus rice) if you aim for 8 servings.

I'm so ready to cook.

After last week's non-cooking, I'm ready for a challenge…so it's officially Jamie Oliver week. I totally got excited/ahead of myself and shopped for like a week's worth of food...only to later realize that I'd only be cooking Sunday, Monday, Tuesday (only for myself, Hubby has a game), and Wednesday...Thursday I'll be in LA hanging with Daniel Tosh (as well as two of my fave gf's), followed by a ridic weekend of LA/SD/LA/back home. So needless to say, a lot of what I bought ended up in the freezer. On the menu we have beer butt chicken, green chili, and couscous and zucchini salad...and once things are thawed, we also have gumbo and enchiladas. First, however, we're trying braised pork with greens and turnips.


I have never made collared or other greens…I've only even used kale and swiss chard like once each, so I have no idea what I'm doing. Jamie was kinda vague, so I did a quick peek around the interweb and took some advice from Ms. Paula Deen—after washing the greens, I cut out the hard center stalks before slicing them. Pretty sure this was a good call, cause they were super tender.

Jamie's recipe also calls for pork knuckle…I have no idea what that is, and the only real descriptions I found online were less than helpful ("A lean boneless cut from the tip portion which is the front part of the leg above the kneecap also known as the forecushion of the hog. Braised or "red cooked" pork knuckle is a classic Shanghainese dish"......oh.). Whatever the hell it is, Vons definitely didn't have it…so we went with pork shoulder, instead. And it was fantastic...fall off the bone-tender-fantastic.

As I served this, I told Hubby that Jamie is convinced that everyone has a favorite part, be it veggies, pork or broth, and to be ready to pick one. So once all the dishes were clean and we were settling down for the Grammys (you're so welcome to everyone who got to follow my running commentary on fb last night), I asked for his decision. His answer? "I liked the veggies...and the broth...and the meat was great."

Normally I would totally roll my eyes at this non-response, but to be honest, I totally agree. The meat was perfectly tender, the veggies were delish, and we both slurped up the broth at the end, totally face first. Next time I may even try this in the slow-cooker and see how it turns out. Cause there will definitely be a next time.

And with that, day one of the Jamie Oliver Experiment complete, I gotta say...I'm excited for the rest of the week.


Greens with Pork and Turnips
Pork Shoulder (ours was 3lbs, that was the smallest they had)
S&P
Cooking spray
4 Bay leaves
A couple large bunches of greens (I used one bunch of mustard greens and one bunch of kale, both washed and stalks removed)
2 or 3 carrots, peeled and cut in big pieces
2 or 3 stalks of celery, trimmed and cut in big pieces
4 or 5 medium sized turnips, peeled and quartered
Vinegar and tabasco to serve

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Coat a large soup/stock pan with cooking spray and heat over high heat. Be sure and use a large enough pan; I started with my dutch oven, but had to relocate everything to a stock pan once it came time for the veggies. Not something I recommend. When hot, add meat. Place two bay leaves on top and cook over high for a couple of minutes. Turn meat over, repeat with remaining bay leaves, and brown the other side another couple minutes.

Reduce heat to medium and add about 3 cups water. When it comes to a boil, cover and let simmer over medium low for about 2 hours or until the meat starts falling off the bone. Add carrots, turnips and celery and a good pinch each of salt and pepper. If the water is really low, add another half cup or so. Cook about 20 minutes, add greens (smash them down if you need to!), stir it up a bit, and cook another 30 minutes or so or until tender. (If you are using collard greens, they take longer, so put them in at the same time as the turnips, carrots and celery and cook about an hour total.)

The meat should be basically unattached from the bone at this point, so it should be easy to remove. Besides the bone, also remove any pieces of fat you can see and the bay leaves. Add a good few shakes of tabasco and/or vinegar before you dish it up (and we each added more tabasco at the table).

You'll probably want to serve with some bread to help mop up any extra goodness.

Going All American

In honor of Super Bowl week, (AKA, 'I don't have to watch football for months and months' week.) I thought we'd go a bit more traditional than normal.

I somehow stumbled across a tasty little recipe for tomato soup the other day while perusing Cooking Light for cheap recipes (not only are we on a diet, but a budget as well), and figured I'd play with it a bit and try my hand at an "all American" meal.

Why does tomato soup go hand-in-hand with grilled cheese? I know that tends to be the norm, but I never ate them together growing up, as far as I can remember, so I figured I'd try it out for myself with some grown-up homemade versions of each.

I'm going to go ahead and interject that I'm, as you probably have realized, off the wheat-free kick. I have two reasons:
1. Vitamin D. I take a boatload of it a day. My mom insists it's just a placebo effect, but my dermatologist recommended it, so I'm gonna go ahead and go with it.
2. CeraVe lotion. I got so hooked on their cream that I also have the night and day face lotions now, too. It's fantastic.
Between those two things, I am hardly itching and quite the happy camper. And had I not needed a second opinion from a second dermatologist (Kaiser=Fail, CBCC=Win) I'd still be back in miserable I-hate-gluten land.

And so, without further ado, low-fat, grown-up grilled cheese and tomato soup. Hubby didn't have a grilled cheese, but his official soup review was, "Wow, you can make this anytime. Was it hard? This is better than Fresh & Easy's."

*Blushing*

Grilled Cheese (per person)
2 slices sourdough
dijon mustard
one slice provolone
2 thin slices of ham
a few thin slices of green onion, separated
small bit of shredded sharp cheddar or other cheese
cooking spray

Spread dijon on each slice. Stick everything else in between (you know how to make a sandwich). Spray skillet or griddle with cooking spray, cook about 3 minutes a side.

Tomato Soup
One peeled brown onion, chopped coarsely
Olive oil (about 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp flour
1.5 cups chicken broth
Large can crushed tomatoes (the kind with basil is great)
6 tbsp fat-free half & half (a bit less than a 1/3 cup)
S&P (good pinch each)
Small pinch of cardamom (optional)

Saute onion in oil a couple minutes until soft. Add flour, mix in well for about a minute. Add broth and tomatoes, bring to a boil. Turn off, and either blend in batches until all is smooth, or use an immersion blender (buy one.) to blend in the pot. Add half and half and return to simmer. Turn off and add S&P, etc. to taste.

See? Not hard. In fact, super, super easy. And yes, better than Fresh & Easy's...and I do love me some Tomato Basil from F&E.

Moroccan Beef and Butternut Squash Tagine

I'm still not feeling great, but after spending 18 hours in bed, I had to at least try and be productive. So I vacuumed, I cleaned the bathroom, I washed sheets...the essentials.

As a sidenote, I've also been putting the new TiVo Premiere to good use. This thing is amazing, and it's not even hooked up to cable yet! (apparently only 4 service guys in Kern County are familiar with TiVo Premiere, which requires a special cable card instead of the normal cable box. I am not joking. Couldn't get an appt for 3 weeks.)

You know I love Netflix. And I also love my TiVo. So the fact that this combines the two makes me oh-so-happy. (It streams Netflix and blockbuster on demand, pandora, YouTube, picassa, etc. etc. etc.)


Ramona helped set it up. Good god, every cat toy we own made it in this shot. Spoiled little shits.

Anyway, I have discovered the show Bones about 6 years late, and since Netflix carries the entire series on demand...it's embarrassing/disgusting how many epis I've watched this week. So to sum up, I love Netflix, I love TiVo, and I love Bones...and I'm not entirely sure what my point was there. And I love making the most of being sick? Sure. Moving on.

Being sick also means soup and not cooking. But since I bought meat for stew 3 days ago, I figured I better use it asap. So the Moroccan Beef and Butternut Squash Tagine I saw in Cooking Light it is.

I wish you could smell my house. It's cinnamony and spicy, garlicky and meaty.


(Yes, I shot from this angle so you can see my new adorable kettle. Everything in my kitchen is becoming orange and red and I love it.)

Here is the recipe I took this from. My only changes were pre-cut butternut squash, a bit of extra garlic and all spices, parsley instead of cilantro, and using a cheaper cut of meat. Problem with cheap meat, however, is that you've got to cook it differently.

Instead of only cooking 5 minutes once the tomatoes boil, I turned the heat to low, covered it, and let it cook slowly til soft for about an hour. Then I put in the squash and cooked until they were done. I also added a small mixture (a tbsp or so) of cornstarch and water to thicken it before I added the squash.



I chopped some extra shallots and garlic when I was prepping the stew, and sautéed them quickly for a couscous (below) to serve.


Herbed Couscous
1/2 cup couscous
1 cup broth
1 chopped shallot
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 thinly sliced green onion
About a 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
Small handful chopped Italian parsley

Add the broth to the sauteed shallots and garlic, bring to a boil, then add couscous, turn off heat, cover, and let stand 10-15 minutes.

Add herbs. Add salt if you'd like (or are having it on its own), but with the Tagine it really doesn't need it.

Pantry meal supreme

Well, kinda.

So not only am I totally unmotivated to cook, I'm not too jazzed about shopping, either. I go, but I get like 3 things at a time.


This is the fridge. Apparently I only eat condiments and drink (don't judge, that's my job). At least the kits have food.

I've been the queen of ready-to-eat food this week. Pre-roasted chicken, Black Angus (and the resulting leftovers), ready to cook pasta...gah. Not terrible, but still.

But I got off my ass and cooked tonight. Even if it was the easiest thing I could think of, which really just meant whatever I had that needed the least from the store.

Ah, how i love risotto. I had onion, garlic, herbs and cheese, so my shopping consisted only of wine, chicken, and arborio rice (I could have used basmati, but it's just not the same.)

You guys know how I feel about risotto. It takes minute effort, but it take a bit of time. So what.

Stuffed some chicken with blue cheese and thyme, browned one side, then flipped, added a quarter cup or so of broth, covered, and cooked over medium for 11 minutes.

As for the risotto, i added the rest of the cheese (tbps-ish), some fresh pepper and a sprinkle of thyme to the rice at the end. Yum.


I am so over being distracted. I wanna cook. And write. And have my stuff back, damnit.

How is it 98 degrees still?

Might as well make the most of it and BBQ with friends, yeah?

I love this recipe for so many reasons: it reminds me of my mom, it's super summery, and it's easy. There's chopping, yes, but a rough to small chop is fine...the onion is really the only thing that needs a finer chop.

I actually boiled the eggs in with the pasta to save from cleaning two pots. You have to rinse the pasta anyway...so why not.


Mom's 'Macaroni' Salad
One package small macaroni noodles (the ones shaped like jujubees)
Two tomatoes, chopped
One can of olives, sliced or chopped
Two hard boiled eggs, cooled and chopped
Three stalks celery, chopped
Half a small red onion, finely chopped
About 3/4 cup light mayo
Salt and pepper

Boil a few quarts of water in a stock pot (enough for all the pasta), add pasta and cook according to directions-10-12 min or so. Drain well, put in large bowl and chill in the fridge.

In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, eggs, celery and onion.

When pasta is cool, mix in mayo, and then stir in tomato mix. Salt and pepper to taste, chill til ready to eat.

Eat with anything worthy of other BBQ food, summer food, or otherwise. And friends, obviously.

-posted out of laziness from my iPhone.

Another oldie but goodie

Or is it Oldy but Goody? Hmmm. I don't know that I've ever seen it singular...it would make sense, but...Ohhhh, English, you evil beast.

(Sometimes I get sidetracked. Sorry, I'm watching Jeff and Britta make out...and possibly Joel McHale's ever expanding pecs. Man, I love May Sweeps.)

The point, finally, is that I love recipes you learned from a parent. You've eaten them since you can remember, you learned how to make them when you were little, and you adjusted them to suit you once you were old enough to know what you liked, aka college.

This is one of those. Chicken Divan. I really should have had my sister guest blog this one, cause she makes a fabulous one, but...I just now thought of the idea. Next time, baby sis. Mine's not so bad either...

Chicken Divan
12oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and cubed
About 2 small heads broccoli, cut in small pieces (3-4 cups)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (low sodium is fine)
About 2 tbsp light mayo
1/3 cup 1% milk
salt and pepper to taste
About 1/2 cup reduced fat cheddar or Mexican cheese blend cheese

Heat over to 400.

Boil water and a pinch of salt in a medium pot. Add broccoli, boil about 3 minutes, drain.

In medium bowl, mix soup, mayo, milk, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Coat a casserole dish lightly with cooking spray, spread chicken out. Spread broccoli over chicken. Pour soup mix over everything. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a little brown and bubbly.

Serve alone or over rice.

Is it still spring?

Cause it's hot. But 'it's cooler outside,' so the screen is open and I'm not allowed to run the a/c even though my house is currently 80 degrees.


See? I'm not even exaggerating.

*Note to self. When complaining to husband about how hot the house is, it works best when you didn't make something hot for dinner. I hate when he's right. As he unfortunately often is. He's just so damn cute, which isn't fair. I really need to get better at this 'the wife is always right' business.


Anyway, delicious. If you want to improve on the original recipe, like I did, you should totally go for it. So I'm going to give you my advice rather than a recipe. Use or discard at will. (Use it!)

Corn & Potato Chowder
•I didn't have old bay, so I threw in a pinch each plus of cardamom, paprika, pepper, celery seed, cayenne, a bay leaf, about a tbsp fresh thyme, and a couple shakes Tabasco. And a couple tsp or more of salt.
•Use chicken broth instead of water, enough to almost cover potatoes.
•Throw an immersion blender in the pot at the end for a couple seconds to thicken it up a bit. Leave plenty of chunks.
•Use about 2.5 potatoes. Peel them roughly, and cut them small.
•Fat free half and half is totally as good as full fat.
•Stir in most of the cheese before serving, and just sprinkle a little bit on at the end.

Spiced chicken and wild rice

I served with a bowl of fig spread/jelly (a couple tbsp mixed with a splash of balsamic vinegar), which was great on top of the chicken and mixed with the rice. The other thing in the pic is a piece of sausage...we were getting rid of stuff in the fridge. Totally doesn't go with this meal, but tasty all the same.


Grilled Spiced Chicken
2 chicken breasts (aim for 6oz each)
3 parts cumin
1 part cinnamon
2 parts ground coriander
2 parts salt
Spray butter
(I counted about a small pinch as a part)

Turn on grill.
Mix together spices. Spray each breast with butter, sprinkle with spices, and rub in a bit. Flip and rub the other side.
Cook about 6 min a side on low.

Wild Rice:
About 1/3 of an onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil
1 cup wild rice (any kind, I like the wild/brown mixes)
A bit more than 2 cups water
Bouillon cube
or chicken broth instead

Sauté onion and garlic in a splash of olive oil. Cook a couple minutes, add rice. Stir, cook a minute or so, then add water and bouillon (or an equal amount broth). Bring to boil, cover and reduce to low. Cook 30-35 minutes until water is absorbed. Let stand a couple minutes.
Serves four.

Better with age?

Some things just get better when you're patient. Most wines, cheese, and calla lilies, apparently -mine were kinda wilty at first and have gotten gorgeous the last two days- just need to ripen a bit. Potato salad, stew...most comfort food, really. Maybe cause they have less seasoning so the flavors need longer to meld? Sure, I'll go with that. And btw, I love my phone. I totally took that pic, like five minutes ago, edited it, and uploaded to this page. Magic. (What was I just talking about? Patience? I have none.)

Last night was no exception. I originally made Braised Chicken and Veggies on Saturday, but I ate alone that night and we just BBQ'd Sunday, so there was tons left over.

Unfortunately, on Saturday I wasn't impressed. It was bland, and just missing something. So I figured I'd let it set and then doll it up later. It was definitely better a couple days later (but I don't want to recommend that. It can't be all that...sanitary? Gross, nevermind. Just do it better the first time.)

Here's my recommendation. Add a lot more salt. Like, alot. (But don't over salt, taste as you go) Add more thyme and a dash of cayenne. And I used cornstarch instead of flour, but flour probably tastes better. And use the butter. I only used half, and it could have used more. Serve over rice (substitute chicken broth for water when you make it. If you can. I almost always do.)

The hubby loved it. I thought he'd think it was bland, but he was all over it. Comfort food wins again.


Yeah, it's in Tupperware. I thought it was only appropriate.

Best "boxed" mac and cheese ever.

The parallel thinks you can't get anything good out of a box. Especially if that thing is mac and cheese. I however, beg to differ. It's so easy to dress up...and here is the proof. The best mac and cheese I've ever had, I think. And bonus, low fat. Kinda.


Out of the box Mac & Cheese
Box of mac and cheese (I like the Trader Joe's rice pasta and cheese)
Olive oil
Small head broccoli, cut in bite size pieces
1 small shallot, diced
Chicken broth
Salt and pepper
Pinch nutmeg
1/3 cup non fat Greek yogurt
About 2 oz reduced fat smoked Gouda, chopped

Boil the pasta in salted water according to box directions.

Meanwhile, In a skillet, heat a splash of oil, then add shallots, saute about 3 minutes. Add broccoli and a bit of chicken broth, stir often about 10 minutes or til broccoli Is almost soft (or as soft as you want), adding a splash of broth now and then if it looks dry. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Turn off heat.

When pasta is done, drain in colander, return empty pot to stove over low. Heat yogurt, cheese mix, and Gouda pieces, stirring constantly, til Gouda is melted and sauce is smooth.

Add broccoli mixture and drained pasta, mix well til well blended. Serve hot.

Chilly? Chili!

What's more wintery than chili to warm you up? (The Parallel says casseroles...ignoring her for the moment...) Meat and beans and spices...yum. And I love how easy it can be. Sure, it may taste better simmered in a crock pot all day, but sometimes the best intentions go awry (like when you get everything for chicken rice salad for dinner except the chicken and have to go with what you meant to cook the next night—in the crock pot—at the last minute).

I normally brown ground turkey for my chili, but I went with stew meat this time instead...more calories, but it makes for a nice change once in awhile.

I definitely need to throw out some love for Bob's Red Mill gluten-free cornbread mix here...Normally GF bread of any kind doesn't really rise and ends up being more brick-like than bread-like, but I was impressed with this consistency. Very cornbready! It's not so great the next day (though you can always save it for cornbread stuffing), but while still warm from the oven with a little honey butter (mix honey with margarine or soft butter. Done)...mmm mmm mmmm. Super good.


Quick Four Bean Chili
Half an onion, chopped
Couple cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil
1 package beef stew meat, cut into bite sized pieces
1 can chili beans, partially drained
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
About 2 tbsp chili powder
About 1 tsp cumin
Salt and Pepper (large pinches)
Cayenne pepper to taste (1/2 tsp or so)
chopped onion, cheese and sour cream to top

Heat a bit of olive oil in stock pot. Add onion, garlic and meat, saute about 5 minutes until meat is browned and onion is soft. Add everything through cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cook 20-30 minutes. Add more salt and/or cayenne to taste. Serve with toppings.

Serves about 6. Roughly 350 cals, 11g fat, 16g fiber, 42g carbs, 25g protein

Or I could pay for lunch every day...

I think most people have a love/hate relationship with leftovers. I totally do-I like the act of making food almost as much as I like eating, so the prospect of leftovers is pretty unexciting. But I'm a huge fan of taking them for lunch. I mean, I make a lot of food. So we could either eat it all (no), toss it (no), or save money and eat it again the next day (fine).

But over the past few days we've somehow gotten to the point where we have far too many options that we either have to eat like, immediately, or toss. Turns out a giant pot of pumpkin soup is great for a dinner party...not so much for two people. One of whom has eaten it for breakfast and/or lunch 3 of the past 5 days. I'm done. But we also have campechana and beef stroganoff (Delicious, recipe below) to kill.
And because I can't leave well enough alone, I also added some stuffed portabellas (the dried-herb no-mozzarella version, unfortunately. Still so good) and grabbed some 3-minute Trader Joe's brown rice (which, yes, is totally fair cheating) to go with the stroganoff. Which means my whole dinner came together in roughly 6 minutes, which gave me time to sit and watch Jeopardy and enjoy my Christmas presents. (My dear, those olives are ridic. Thanks again.)

The Stroganoff picture is from when we originally ate it this week, by the way. I totally count canned veggies as side dishes. Without shame, thank you. And the hubby likes them cold, so I don't even have to heat them up...which I probably shouldn't admit. Whatever.

Stroganoff
1 package stew/stir fry beef strips
1/2 cup flour (I used Bob's Red Mill GF bread mix. Sometimes you make do with what you've got.)
salt and pepper
1 tbsp butter
2 large shallots, halved and sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup broth
1/2 cup sherry
Worcestershire Sauce
2 packages sliced mushrooms
water as needed
1 container light sour cream

Combine flour, a large pinch each of salt and pepper, and beef strips in a bowl. Toss til well coated.

In large stockpan, heat butter over medium. Saute shallots and garlic a couple of minutes til soft. Add beef, and brown about 4 minutes. Add sherry, and scrape up the browned bits in the pan. Add broth and Worcestershire. Mix well. Stir in mushrooms, reduce to medium low, and cover. Stir occasionally, and add a bit of water if it is sticking or too thick.

Let cook about 5 minutes. Reduce to low and stir in sour cream. Serve over rice or pasta.

Serves about 8. (Make extra rice for leftovers.) About 230 cals, .5g fiber, 13g carbs, 17g protein.

A pumpkin challenge? Yes, please!

As many of you may already know, my friend Laura rocks. Not only did she motivate me to get my ass in gear and start running this week (though it's generally not starting that's my problem...), she also has been pestering me to make a Spiced Pumpkin soup that she tried for Thanksgiving.

As adorable as her version was, it was a bit time consuming, not to mention fairly fattening. So her challenge to me was to simplify/lighten it up.

Challenge accepted!


I was pretty happy with the outcome. A bit thick (I only used 3 cans of broth and probably should have used 4. But I ran out.), but quite tasty and filling. And super low cal. Plus, as an added bonus, I got to have a super color coordinated cooking experience. Holy crap, I love my new dutch oven. Isn't it gorg? I wanted a green one, but the Parallel convinced me that it would be less than appetizing. Plus it was like, twice as expensive. Details, details. Either way, now I love the red.

The only suggestion the hubby had was for more bacon...like, little pieces of it. You could always saute another piece or two, chop it up, and add it when you put in the half and half. I was fine without it, but dudes like bacon. I'm pretty sure it's in their DNA.

So congrats, L. You win my muse of the week award. But I'll definitely need a review—let me know how it compares to the full fat, full afternoon version.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup
1 tbsp butter
2 slices bacon, chopped (2 oz)
1/4 cup chardonnay
1 large onion, chopped
1 serrano chili, broiled til skin is charred. Seeds removed, roughly chopped
2 large cans pumpkin puree
4 cans chicken broth (about 6.5 cups)
1/4 + 2 tbsp cup maple syrup*
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper
2 cups fat free half and half
Green onions for garnish

* If you like sweeter stuff, use grade B, or regular grocery store syrup. If you're not so much, use grade A. I get ours at Trader Joe's.

In large stockpot, heat butter and bacon over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onion, stir occasionally for about 15 minutes. Add chili, mix well.

Add wine, and try and get up all the browned bits in the pan. Stir in pumpkin and 3 cans broth. Add syrup, paprikas, cayenne, about 3 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Stir til mixed. When it starts bubbling, reduce to low and cover. Stir once in a while for about 20 minutes.

Remove soup from heat. Using a blender (upright or immersion), puree the soup til smooth. Return to heat. Stir in half and half. If you want it thinner, add some or all of the 4th can of broth. Add more syrup, salt or spice to taste.

About 12 servings. About 100 cals per serving, 2g fat, 6g fiber, 16g carbs, 6g protein.

Google 'The Soup Pickle Girl'. You won't be sorry.

I think soup kind of gets a bad rap. Lots of people don't seem to see it as a meal unless it's accompanied by half a sandwich, a salad, and/or breadsticks. And then there are people who only think it can be satisfying if it's made from potatoes or cream. Not me. When I make soup, I tend to stick with broth-based varieties. They're generally pretty low cal, filling, and warm you up all cozy-like without weighing you down.

Plus, soup's easy clean up. Important when you still feel like crap and your handsome dishwasher is out of town, having fun without you.

So because my sad excuse for chicken soup the other night got me in a soup-makin' mood, tonight is installment two of Sick Kid Soup. Joel McHale would be so proud. Fun Wiki soup fact: The word restaurant first originated in France in the 16th century to describe a concentrated, cheap soup designed as an 'antidote' for exhaustion (a 'restoring' soup, if you will). These soups were sold by street vendors, until some guy finally opened up a shop specializing in these soups. Ta-Da, the "Restaurant" was born.

You never know when you'll need to impress someone while watching Jeopardy. You're welcome.

Anyway, I'm definitely not at full power yet, so I decided to go with a low-involvement, low-prep soup: French Onion. Seems daunting, but is really easy. Slice some onions, let them caramelize down, add some broth, and simmer the hell out of it. That's basically it. You can totally handle that.

French Onion Soup
4 large onions, halved then thinly sliced (Use a mix of sweet and red onions)
olive oil
1/4 cup sherry, white wine, or vermouth
8 cups beef broth
fresh thyme
1/4 tsp each salt, pepper, and sugar
croutons or bread slices
Sliced cheese (Emmentaler, swiss, something in that family)

Heat a bit of olive oil(about half a tbsp) in large stock pot over medium high. Add onion, saute a couple of minutes until they start getting soft. Reduce heat to medium, add salt, pepper and sugar, and mix well. Stir every few minutes for about 25 minutes. You may get some browning and sticking in the pan, that's fine. Just let it do its thing.

When they're a brown mess, add wine and try to break up all the brown bits stuck to the pan. Take the leaves off a couple of thyme branches (just slide your fingers down it in the wrong direction and they should come right off) until you have about 1/4 a tsp or so, and add it to the mix. Add broth, stir well. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Let cook about 2 hours or until you can't stand it anymore.

If you have french or sourdough bread, toast a slice or two and cut into small pieces. (I use half a small piece of my bread ripped into pieces). Ladle soup into an oven safe bowl, add bread or croutons on top, and cover with one slice of cheese per bowl. I only had smoked gouda, and it was great.

Broil in oven a couple of minutes until the cheese is melty and gooey. Serve immediately. Based from a Cooking Light recipe, so I'm using their nutrition info.
For 1.25 cup serving, about 290 cals, 10g fat, 3g fiber, 33g carbs, 17g protein

Tomorrow, I remove myself from the couch.

I'm trying to get better, I swear. I'm just an impatient patient. On Sunday, I hid under sunglasses and a ponytail and painfully made the trek to the store for juice. And collapsed back on the couch immediately upon return. Yesterday, after basically two and a half days couped up inside, I made myself go into the office for a change of scenery...my AD sent me home 2 hours later. Apparently I'm not useful when I'm hacking up lungs while staring confusedly at my monitor.

And so today was another day on the couch. I'm out of new Netflix discs to watch, so I finally tried the Watch Instantly function online. They don't have a ton of options, but I saw Smart People (eh, the story never got deep enough to matter), Confessions of a Shopaholic (I think it made me dumber. I almost turned it off twice...I sadly had nothing better to do), and Jesus Camp (I told the hubby I was watching a horror film). Kept me entertained, at least.

But after that much sitting my back is killing me, so I sucked it up a bit ago and took the chance that yoga would help more than hurt. Half an hour has never passed more slowly in my life. It was like the never-ending triangle sequence. But on the bright side, I got to use my new yoga mat. (Yes, I need two. One for upstairs, one for downstairs.) I love it. The hubby informed me that the tree design was the most zen like option, so he thought it was the best choice. Hee. Adorable.

I know I should have stopped there and counted it as my strenuous work for the day, but I don't always listen to my better judgement. So I decided to make soup.

Soup in a can is gross. Seriously. I cannot stand it. The only kinds I like are Campbell's Cream of Mushroom or Tomato. The condensed kinds. Made with milk. Period. I bought a bunch of soup for us sick kids yesterday, and literally poured two of them down the sink. Homemade soup is way too easy to have to eat that crap. Even for someone who gets winded from standing right now.

Normally, I'd probably make Cabbage Chicken soup, but we have basically no food in the house, so I had to do a pantry version instead. It was super simple, which is great for my half-functioning taste buds. If you have any carrot and celery, chop a handful up and toss them in before you add the chicken. Less than 10 minutes, and so much better for you than anything in a can.
Sick-kid Soup
3 cups chicken broth
3 oz raw chicken breast, cut into pieces
handful rice sticks or other pasta (about 1/2 serving)
dash pepper
dash sriracha

Bring broth to a medium boil. Add chicken and pasta, let boil again, and reduce to simmer for about 8 minutes or until chicken and pasta are cooked through. Add pepper and a bit of sriracha, stir well. Eat. Feel better.
About 200 calories, 3g fat