A busy day!

Today was my busiest day all week! I made my own lunch and dinner, did some dishes, watched Sanctuary and Fringe, and made some homemade chocolate peanut butter pudding. Now I am getting ready to head to bed for the night after I finish watching Iron Man.  I love Robert Downey Jr. and cannot wait for Iron Man II.  May 7 cannot come fast enough!

The recipe comes from my Better Homes & Gardens 75th Anniversary Edition New Cookbook, page 255. Well, it started out their recipe, the peanut butter part was all me {although, you may have guessed that by my unit of measure - globs}. Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder or unsweetened cocoa powder*

2 2/3 cups milk

4 beaten egg yolks

2 globs of peanut butter (creamy or crunchy your pick, I go with creamy)

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Separate and beat 4 egg yolks in a small bowl.

2. In a medium heavy saucepan, combine sugar, chocolate, and cornstarch.  Whisk in milk.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.  Remove pan from heat.

3. Gradually stir 1 cup of milk mixture into egg yolks. Add egg mixture to milk mixture in pan.Bring milk mixture to a gentle boil; reduce heat.  Cook and stir for two minutes more. (I totally forgot this step - that being the gentle boil.)

4. Remove pan from heat.  Stir in butter, peanut butter, and vanilla.  Pour pudding into a bowl.  Cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap.  Serve warm or cold.  Do not stir during chillings.

*it is possible I accidentally used 2/3 of cup, I can't remember now, the recipe calls for 1/3 of cup. 

Book Review ~ Smash Cut
While in the hospital, I finished up Sandra Brown's latest book, Smash Cut.  Amazon.com indicates the book had good reviews.  I found it to be a slow read.  It was 367 pages long.  I figured out who the bad guy was pretty quickly, I don't think it was supposed to be a secret.  Then the rest of the book was watching the main characters figure out who done it and figure out how they were going to catch him.  Pretty slow going, then the twist in the end, weird.  **SPOILER** I mean really, Paul was okay with people thinking he was having an affair with his daughter rather than let on that he was her father. Their weekly meetings in a hotel room?  She didn't want to dishonor her adopted father so she hid her relationship with her biological father?  Don't make a lot of sense to me.  Also if Paul was the honorable man she kept making him out to be, he would have disinherited Creighton a long time ago.  I know that both of those twists were supposed to keep us guessing but they were a bit much.  Julie had no reason for keeping it from Derek either.  The inheritance maybe but the relationship, no, not really. **END SPOILER**  I would give the book 2 1/2 out of 5. I finished it  because I couldn't leave the hospital and get a better book from the library.  Plus, I started it and I hate not finishing a book.

p.s. if anyone out there knows how to fix my dateline, please let me know, it is starting to annoy me to enough to leave blogger. . .

Cheesy Penne Bake

I am finally mostly recovered from the bug that hit me last week.  I haven't been cooking, taking pictures, or blogging.  Today is the first day since probably Monday that I didn't have a nap.

I found a new addiction - My Kitchen Addiction. Tonight, we had her Cheesy Penne Bake.  It was really quite good - even Kathryn said she liked it! When a My Kitchen Addiction recipe calls for a large baking dish, she means it.  I ended up using another 8 ounces of colby jack.  Next time, I will double the mozzerella if not triple it since I also won't be using the ricotta.  We aren't really fans of ricotta cheese around here.

Cheesy Penne Bake (Printer Friendly Version)
+ 14.5 ounce box of multi-grain penne
+ 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
+ 1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
+ 1 yellow onion, diced
+ 2 cloves garlic, minced
+ 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
+ 14 ounce can tomato sauce
+ 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
+ 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
+ Kosher salt
+ 8 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
+ 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
+ 2 ounces parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated

Prepare the pasta according to the package directions.  Drain and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the sausage and brown in the oil.  Once the sausage is cooked, add the onion and garlic.  Saute with the browned sausage until the onion is soft (about 4-5 minutes).  Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce to the pan.  Season with the basil, thyme, and some salt (to taste).  Stir to combine all of the ingredients, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat.

Prepare a large baking dish with cooking spray. Coat the bottom of the dish with one cup of the meat sauce.  Add one third of the pasta and top with one third of the remaining sauce.  Spoon half of the ricotta cheese over the pasta and sauce.  Sprinkle with one third of the mozzarella and parmigiano-reggiano cheese.  Repeat the layers of pasta, sauce, and cheeses. Top the cheese layer with the remaining pasta and sauce.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmigiano-reggiano cheese on the top of the pasta and sauce.

Bake the casserole for 30 minutes until all of the cheese is bubbly and has melted. The top should be golden.

Dinner

Tonight for dinner, we are having Kim's Chili. Mom is getting it started for me when she gets home from subbing at a high school about 20 minutes away.  We are adding some chili powder.  I am starting with this recipe and then overtime making it more exciting.  I know that I like this particular recipe because Kim has brought it into work a few times.  But I would like a more interesting chili.  I am also making homemade cheesy biscuits from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. This doesn't really count as cooking a meal for friends and family, but it does count for trying new recipes.

Kim's Chili

2 lb. Ground beef
2 cans chili beans (do not drain)
2 15 oz cans tom sauce
2 15 oz cans diced tom
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Chopped onion

Cook all together and enjoy!
Printable Version of Recipe

The Roast Chicken

So after a week of thinking/planning/talking about this roast chicken, I finally made the roast chicken with much help from Mom. I completely forgot about the biscuits until it was too late and ended up doing canned biscuits. We also ended up using a Reynolds bag instead of the Joy of Cooking recipe. It turned out nicely. Here is a picture of the bird before it went in the bag.

I actually did all of the dinner dishes after dinner! 

Everything turned out nicely! And our friend Connie joined Mom, Kathryn & I for dinner.  Mom made a delicious apple pear crisp for dessert.  She ended up baking it in the toaster oven because we ran out of room in regular oven. I don't have any lovely food pictures because I forgot to take them.  Sorry guys.

Here is Mom's Apple Crisp Recipe.  She used 2 pears and 4 apples for the Apple Pear Crisp.

APPLE CRISP

6-8 apples 1/2 c. butter or margarine 1 c. sugar   3/4 c. flour 1 tsp. cinnamon

Peel, core and slice apples and place in a greased baking dish Mix butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon with a pastry blender till well blended. Spread on top of apples Bake 375 degrees for 45-60 minutes Serve warm with ice cream.

Listed in the Foodie Blogroll!

Look!

How fun is this! 

Food talk time.  You may recall I was supposed to go out to dinner tonight.  Instead, I ended taking my fall photos, having cheerios for dinner, and planning tomorrow night's menu.  We are having Roast Chicken, Green Beans, Corn, Cheesy Biscuits, and Rhubarb Pie.  I am hoping I have time to make something else for dessert as I am not really a fan of Rhubarb Pie.  Rhubarb Pear Pie is delicious, plain rhubarb, eh.  The green beans and corn really should be simple enough as I am just warming them up.  The chicken, however, will be new.  It will be especially fun as my Mother is obsessed with not undercooking chicken.  So I will be strictly following the Joy of Cooking directions and using a meat thermometer.  Hopefully, I will get some good shots of the chicken. 

I have that job interview tomorrow morning so I am going to so get my suit ready, take a hot bath and read for a bit!  Wish me luck!

Exciting Saturday Night

As a reward for all of her work this morning and afternoon, I took Kate to go see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was an adorable movie. And we went to a local theater so it was a bargain too!

Before we went to the movie, I tried another recipe from My Kitchen Cafe (I'm starting to develop a blog crush on her and her recipes!) This time, we went with her Skillet Macaroni & Cheese.  I cut the recipe in half.  She was definitely right about eating it hot.  It was delicious hot.  Unlike boxed mac & cheese, it actually some substance so you don't really need to eat nearly as much.  Kate did not seem to care much for it.  But this is the second time I have ever made real macaroni & cheese.  The first time was with a recipe off of the Velveeta box.  It was not good.  I will definitely be making this mac & cheese again. 

 

Last night, I bought a bottle of Newman's Own Wine. I wanted to chill it before dinner and then forgot about it.  I am so used to leaving vodka in the freezer that I didn't give it a second thought until this afternoon when I found it like this in the freezer.

The cork was still in, but just barely.

And finally, you will notice a few changes to the blog.  My favorite is this signature at the bottom of all of my posts!

Broccoli Cheese Soup!

Last night, I made Broccoli Cheese Soup and it was pretty good.  I found the recipe at My Kitchen Cafe. It was very easy to make.  I used an entire package of frozen broccoli - which was way too much.  I also added some sea salt when it was all done.  I don't normally add salt to soup, but I don't think I used enough pepper and it needed *something*. We had some warm delicious french bread with it too.  I also think that next time I will chop up the broccoli.

 
I love My Kitchen Cafe.  Tonight, we might try to make her Apple Cider Pudding Cake.  Today is cleaning day and I am being beckoned.

Breakfast

Kate is making me breakfast!  She was going to surprise me but I got up and saw her.  She is making pancakes from scratch.

 

 

The last one was my blueberry pancake.  Yum!

Dinner

Tonight Berl & Donald came over for dinner.  I made Rachael Ray's Chicken Kiev, Cheesy Orzo, and creamed corn (I didn't read the label clearly, I thought it was regular corn which I am not a fan of but Donald prefers it to broccoli).  We also had Jello Instant Oreo Dessert which I made this morning.  After dinner, we played Sorry.  Donald beat us despite our group effort to keep him from winning.

I didn't use fresh herbs for the Kiev, I just used some italian seasoning mix from the cupboard and fresh garlic.  Next time, I think I will lightly brown or seal the chicken in the oil and then bake it.  I ended up needing to add a cup of water to the orzo in the end and let it go for another 5 minutes and was happy with it. I also used the thin sliced chicken breasts instead of slicing open regular ones.  I am undecided as to whether I'll do that again.  I probably will has it is lesson hassle, all I had to do is pound them down to 1/4 inch.  Each piece was only 4 ounces.  I guess that is fine, Donald had 2.  (If he moves in, feeding a 16 year old boy will be much different than feeding a 10 year old girl.)

Everyone liked the Chicken Kiev (recipe & link below) and only Berl & I liked the Cheesy Orzo (recipe & link below).

I completely forgot to take pictures of the finished product. So I just have 2 cooking pictures and then pictures of the recipes with my notes on them.  I like to make a note on the page of when I made that recipe last and who liked it.  The cheesy orzo says, 10/04/2009, Amy & Berl liked it, Kathryn & Donald do not like it. (Kathryn & Donald's dislike will not stop me from making it again. . . ) Although, in the future, I will probably half it as it does make quite a bit.

So today, I took a couple of pictures (see today's below) and made a dinner for my family.  Making progress on a couple of my goals!

Chicken Kiev

• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast (6-8 ounces each) or 4 chicken cutlets (6 ounces each)
  
• 10 blades fresh chives, chopped to about 2 tablespoons
• A palmful fresh parsley, finely chopped to about 2 tablespoons
• A palmful fresh dill, finely chopped, about 2 tablespoons
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 6 tablespoons chilled butter
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• A wedge lemon
• Salt and pepper
• Plain, round toothpicks (for securing chicken)
  

Preparation

In a large, deep skillet, heat 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil over medium-high heat. The oil needs to be 360°F for frying. If you do not have a frying thermometer, add a cube of white bread to the hot oil. If the bread browns in a count to 40, the oil is ready.

Cover work surface with waxed paper. Arrange breasts on paper. Butterfly small chicken breasts: cut into flesh and across, but not through the breast, and open them up. The cutlets may just be removed from package and arranged on waxed paper. Cover breast meat with a second sheet of waxed paper. Pound out cutlets to 1/4-inch thick with a small heavy skillet or a rubber mallet. Be careful not to tear meat. Roll up waxed paper and breasts and set aside.

Combine chopped herbs on cutting board with chopped garlic. Cut six tablespoons cold butter into four pieces (1 1/2 tablespoons each) and coat each piece liberally with the herb garlic mixture.

In three disposable pie tins, add flour, eggs beaten with a splash of cold water and bread crumbs (one ingredient in each tin).

Uncover chicken and squeeze a wedge of lemon over breasts. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place an herb-covered piece of butter on each piece of chicken. Wrap and roll cutlets tightly up and over the butter cubes. Secure stuffed chicken with toothpicks. Roll stuffed breasts in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs.

Fry the Chicken Kiev bundles 7-8 minutes on each side until deep golden brown all over.

Cheesy Orzo

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cans (14 ounces) chicken or vegetable broth or stock
• 2 cups orzo pasta (enriched rice may be substituted)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat a 8 inch pot with a tight fitting cover over moderate heat. Add oil, onion and garlic and saute for 2 or 3 minutes. Add broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir in orzo and return broth to a boil. Cover pot and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until liquid is absorbed and pasta tender. Remove lid and stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. You favorite fresh herbs may also be stirred into the orzo or rice to strengthen the flavor even more.

Dinner tomorrow night

Berl & Donald are coming over tomorrow night for dinner (assuming Berl doesn't get called into work).  Tomorrow afternoon I will be at a pet blessing for the humane society (pictures will be posted!) and Mom will be volunteering at the home tour for Advent House.

I am trying to figure out what I am going to cook.  I am going through Joy of Cooking, one of Sandra Lee's cookbooks (if I can find it), and the interwebnet.  I am going for something homey, something K & D will both eat, something not complicated, but something that takes some effort & care.  So far all I've found is a Chicken & Broccoli Braid.  But I don't think it is what I am looking for.

I found what I was looking for in my Rachael Ray's 30-Minutes Meals 2.  Cheesy Orzo page 63 & Chicken Kiev page 176.  We will also have green beans and maybe even an Oreo Dessert.


This will be the first time I've cooked for Donald.  I've cooked for Berl a few times - not too many. So I'd like this to turn out nicely.  I have made Chicken Kiev before and I *think* I've made Cheezy Orzo.  The green beans and Oreo Dessert are no brainers.  The green beans are probably in my freezer and the Oreo Dessert is one of those instant imitation cheesecake style desserts.

This dinner by the way will help me with goal number 42. Cook fifteen different meals for my family & friends.  As you may have figured out, I don't cook that often.  I make various excuses for not cooking but what it seems to boil down to is I am either not prepared, didn't plan ahead for that night or I am uninspired by cooking meals for just Kathryn and I.

There will definitely be pictures of this meal.  I think I will go ahead and cook this meal even if he gets called into work. It will be good practice and a good dinner.

Crockpot Cooking

We've started a lunch club at work. So far we have had some pretty great lunches! Today is my day. I made RR's Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs with Angel Hair Pasta and an Oreo Pie dessert from a box.

I cooked it in my crockpot and doubled the recipe. There is no more room in my crockpot.


I let the meatballs cook for 3 hours on high. I am off to check on them now!

update: They were not done, in fact, they had to cook for another 2.5 hours! Apparently, it is very bad to over-fill your crockpot. Note to self, don't do that.

What is cooking?

You may recall that when I posted a link to Michael Pollan's Article Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch, I said I'd talk about it later. It is later.

Tonight, I cooked dinner. Well, I think I cooked dinner. But after reading his article, I'm not sure I cooked dinner. I dumped canned tomatoes (crushed and diced) over garlic and diced onions (frozen & pre-chopped) that I had sauteed in a dash of olive oil. I stirred in a generous amount of McCormick's Italian Herb Seasoning (comes in a grinder, just bought it tonight, quite tasty). I heated a loaf of Italian bread I bought this evening. I put the sauce mixture over some penne that I ?cooked? and on top of that I put chicken breast seasoned with the above seasoning and grilled on my Foreman Grill. Quite tasty. I also enjoyed a half or so bottle of Grand Traverse Sweet Harvest Riesling.* (See Above) I also put a good amount of pre-grated Parmesan cheese on the top, of course, it wasn't even real parmesan, it was Kraft parm, not the real stuff from northern Italy.


(I am really hoping that as this project continues, I get better at taking pictures. . . )

So is this cooking? According to the article, the definition of cooking by a food-market research firm, The NDP Group, is "[t]o cook from scratch . . . means to prepare a main dish that requires some degree of 'assembly of elements.'" Well, I definitely did that tonight. I made a tomato based sauce, a simple sauce, but a good sauce. I seasoned and grilled my chicken and then put it on top of the pasta and pasta sauce. But what I did also sounds a lot like what happens on he rather dismissively described as the "dump and stir" programs. In the article, he used the phrase, "from scratch" a few times. How far back in the process do I need to go for my cooking to count as "from scratch"? What if I made my own pasta, something I have always wanted to do, and canned my own tomatoes? Could I then use the pre-mixed seasonings in the grinder? I would call that cooking from scratch. But then, I called what I did tonight, cooking. Oh, and delicious.

I know I am over thinking this, but I do think the subject is a very important one. I agree with the basic premise of the article, which, I think is we need to do more traditional cooking at home. Why? Because when we do, we spend more time together as family, we eat healthier, and the time we spend together is more meaningful. I find the time I spend teaching my daughter to cook is fun, we connect, we communicate more than we do at restaurants. But, sometimes, I enjoy a good meal out.

*Honey, this does not count as drinking alone. It was wine with dinner, alone. Totally different.

Cooking is Therapy.

Another article on the benefits of cooking - Cooking is therapy: Making meals helps to reduce stress, heal a broken heart, among other benefits.

Cooking (again) & Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan is a great food writer. He wrote an article which I'll talk more about after I get back from taking my boxer to the vet. (A store for another day.) A great read and my response ties back to my defense of Sandra Lee. Since my dog-sitter swiped my SL Cooking 3 cookbook from the library, you'll have to wait to read about my efforts at the recipes. Last night's cooking with Kate was fun and I think that even though the breadcrumbs and the pasta were not homemade, it officially counts as cooking.

Spaghetti with Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

I actually cooked dinner tonight and we brought our lunch to work. I found this recipe in one of those recipe machines at the grocery store. It is a Rachael Ray recipe.

I added about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of chopped onion to the tomato mixture. I also bought the wrong size of canned tomatoes and had half of what the recipe calls for. Next time, I'll make sure I have the right amount. I also cooked it covered as I was concerned about the lack of liquid (I, um, just figured out my mistake). Kate helped shape the meatballs around the cheese. Some of the cheese melted out some of the meatballs. Kate said she didn't like it. She ate her three meatballs and her plain angel hair pasta. She says she doesn't like a lot of things and then one day she does. She thought the meatballs were too moist and she likes my old drier meatball recipe. The kid is just odd. :)

I took pictures both in the pot and on the plate. But I can't figure out how to get them off the camera. One thing at a time I guess. . .

I only have two complaints/comments, (1) the recipe says it serves 6 and that it makes 20 meatballs. 20 is not evenly divisible by 6. (2) it actually made 19. If I can make this, anyone can! Pretty good I'd say! I will definitely be making this one again, but next time, I'll actually follow the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk or water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, 2 smashed and 1 chopped
• Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
• Salt
• 1 pound lean ground sirloin
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
• 1 large egg
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 20 (1/2-inch) cubes
• 1 pound spaghetti

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, soak the bread crumbs in the milk.

2. In a large, wide saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, season to taste with salt and let the sauce simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the beef, chopped garlic, parsley, Parmigiano-Reggiano, egg and 1 teaspoon of salt to the soaked bread crumbs and stir with a fork until combined. Place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture in your hand and press a mozzarella cube into the center. Shape the meat around the cheese, forming a ball. Repeat with the remaining meat and mozzarella.

4. Stir the sauce and raise the heat to medium- low. Carefully place the meatballs in the sauce, submerging them completely. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook without stirring for 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti, cook until al dente, about 8 minutes, and drain. Toss the spaghetti with the tomato sauce and meatballs, sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.

Sandra Lee again

I'm not ready, I'm just not ready to leave her. I have decided to forgive her the craziness of the Kwanzaa cake. I made this decision tonight in the library when I checked out Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking 3. Then I promptly went home and made mac & cheese for dinner (Kate also had carrots & I had a turkey dog). Oh and it was Kraft. You know what else I checked out of the library, the 75th Anniversary Edition of Joy of Cooking. And, ah, then I made some Kraft Mac & Cheese (and I liked it).

I gotta tell you, for all the shit she takes online from the "experts", some of the stuff in this book looks good. And frankly, it makes me think I can cook. I could give a crap Anthony Bourdain like her or her style. I am in no way impressed by a man who eats sheep testicles, ant eggs, and other disgusting things. She really seems to piss him off. I like that she wants to connect with me and make my life easier. All while he is off gallivanting around the world eating rectums and other unfortunate body parts. He does not inspire me to want to cook for my family.

I think I am going to try to make a few meals from her cookbook. I will try to take pictures and share the results with you here.

Sandra Lee made me sad.

I have always loved Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee. Loved it! I don't really can't really cook very well or often. So she always made me feel like I could cook, I still didn't, but that is really quite beside the point. Then today, thanks to Smart Bitches, I came across this video. It made me sad, very sad. You see, she made me think I could cook. But it turns out she's crazy. So does that mean I can't cook. I mean corn nuts?




I just don't know if I can still watch her show. Well, okay, watch clips of her show as we haven't had cable or satellite in over a year now.

Smart Bitches also provided a link to an awesome blog post in which two women attempt to recreate the Kwanzaa cake.

I love the internet.