Cookie Experiment & Apple Kuchen & Casserole

So this is your two-fer post. I'm, 1. too tired to make it two posts and 2. It's late.

So this last few weekends, I guess from the week before Easter to this weekend has been full and busy with back and forth and family gatherings.

Honestly some of the end of March is a blurr. I have some photos to remind me of what I purchased that week but not much else haha. I guess the running is using my brain power now and taking over.

I did buy grapes not long ago but found that these grapes were hulk sized.

That is an average sized spoon. Can you say HUGE. That was the word of the day one day the week after St. Patrick's but before Easter. I bought these Hulk grapes and then at work saw two HUGE vultures just chilling out on top of the office building I work in. Came back from lunch and was just standing in the parking lot staring with mouth agape and saying, oh my goodness those are HUGE birds! I'm serious, when they look big from the ground floor of a 5 story building you know they are big birds.

So then I got bored one night and decided it was time to experiment. I kept seeing people online using Easter candy to create new and fun treats. So, since I lacked candy I had to go buy some. So I went and purchased the candy I know Mike likes and decided to play with my mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe.

So I took my mom's basic chocolate chip cookie recipe is actually pretty close to the Toll House recipe with a few tweaks in measurements. Crazy huh? I think everybody's chocolate chip cookie recipes are based on the Toll House recipe but then tweaked for preference.

So I made the basic recipe, then I added about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter. Then I added chopped up Peanut Butter Squared Snickers. So delicious on their own and then to add it to a cookie. Then I baked according to directions.

After I took some powdered sugar, butter (room temperature), a package of Swiss Miss dark chocolate cocoa, and a little vanilla and made a frosting. Then when the cookies cooled, (they were still soft and had a great chewy caramel bend to them, I frosted them with the chocolate frosting. Mike said the frosting texture wasn't quite right. A little grainy, yes. But that could have been solved by melting in a little milk before adding, then I would not have had to add any milk.

Basic frosting recipe is as follows: (I use for cookies and cakes)
1 stick soft, room temperature butter/margarine
1 tsp - 2 tsp vanilla (or desired flavoring)
8 - 16 oz powdered sugar (depends on how much frosting you want
1-3 Tbsp milk (depends on consistency you are going for - cookie or cake or a glaze)

Mix all together in mixer and frost as needed.

So after making the cookies and sharing with Mike I decided to make something else, I think my baking bug is finally coming back. I got burned out there for a while. So I decided I needed to use the apples Dad had given me that were taking up a good portion of space in my freezer. So I pulled those out and thought about what I could make.

I had been eyeballing my great grandmother's apple kuchen recipe for a while but just didn't take the time to do it. It's definitely not a 10 minute project. More like 2 1/2 hours total. Definitely something to plan to do. I'm sure you can make the dough the night before and place in the fridge after proofing to save and then bake the next morning for breakfast. I think of this as one of those special breakfasts or for dessert. It's delicious and has some family history with it.

First you have to make the dough, with flour, yeast, sugar, butter, water, egg, cinnamon, and salt. Then once it's put together, you knead it out into a nice ball and let it rest.

this is what happens when
I don't put the splash guard on my mixer

After you let the dough ball rise you have to punch it down in the center and let rise again. Mind you, rise times are 1 hour for the first and around 30 min to 1 hour for the second.

Once dough has risen twice and is nice and puffy you have to spread it out into a pan, the recipe says to divide into two pieces and then add toppings and bake. I chose to leave it in one and spread the dough out in a 9 1/2 by 11 inch cookie sheet.

Then you add your toppings, in my case - apples with a little flour, sugar, and cinnamon tossed together for a delicious flavor combo. Recipe says to arrange neatly. I did my best but would have preferred to have very thinly sliced apples but I made due with what I had.

So then you bake for about an hour and then it looks a little like this. Once cooled top with either powdered sugar dusted all over or make a thin glaze and drizzle. I chose to glaze it.

Hulda Bader's Kuchen Recipe:

Dough:
5-6 cups flour
2 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups hot tap water (120 F - 130 F)
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
Salad oil/vegetable oil (I used Pam spray)

Directions:
Combine 2 cups flour, cinnamon, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add softened butter. Add water into bowl all at once. Beat with mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and 1 cup flour. Beat at high speed 1 minute. Gradually stir in just enough flour with wooden spoon to make soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Then onto floured board round into a ball. Knead 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Brush with tiny amount of oil. Cover with Saran Wrap then a towel. Let rise on board. After 1 hour, push down in center. Leave to rise again (about another 30 min to an hour). Divide and shape. Place on greased bakery sheet. Brush with melted butter, let rise again. (30 min to an hour). Bake at 350 F degrees for 30 min.

Toppings:
Fruit Kuchen: roll out dough, brush with melted butter and add fruit toppings.

Apple Kuchen: slice apples thin. Mix them with cinnamon and sugar, and a little flour. Arrange neatly on dough. Sprinkle again with cinnamon and sugar where needed.

Rolled Kuchen: Roll out dough, brush with melted butter. Chop desired amount of nuts, raisins, cinnamon, and sugar. Roll up into log. Place on bakery sheet and brush with butter.

After cooled, drizzle with icing, top with cherries and walnuts.

This is the lady who made this deliciousness. Mrs. Hulda Bader. (my great grandmother)

So I took this to work with me the next day and it was an instant hit with all the coffee drinkers. People ask for the recipe, I send them here. ;) Easier than sending out 100 emails of the recipe that I never bring to work with me.

So then we hit Easter. Mike wanted me to make Rockin' Guac, a recipe sponsored by rotel. I was cool with that since I know my family will eat just about anything and this would be good to munch on before the ham and German potato salad would be ready.

It's a super simple recipe.

1/2 cup chopped onion (red)
3 avocados, ripe
1 can rotel, mild or original
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: Mash all together.

Mike says it should be a 2 avocado to 1 can ratio, where I think maybe using mild rotel and adding a tomato might help. Definitely had to add more salt and pepper. I tend to under season with salt just to be on the safe side. Something totally fixable.

But it was a hit, mom enjoyed as did Mike and myself. Not sure if I saw dad take a dip at it or not. I only went home with a heaping half cup. So I think this was a good one. A little chunky but good.

Mom made a delicious dinner of honey glazed spiral cut ham, German potato salad, some olives and pickles as a part of the dinner (much like what we do for Thanksgiving). Then I brought the vegetable. Carrot casserole. Mike enjoys this so much he even eats seconds. It's tasty and you WILL want seconds. Of course this batch came out a bit lumpy, I think it's because I used baby carrots instead of whole carrots chopped up. Boiling baby carrots to a tender mush takes FOR-EV-ER! Do not do it unless you have a food processor. Which is what I want for Christmas or my birthday, you hear that family? I WANT A FOOD PROCESSOR, at least 5 cups capacity and not a proctor silex brand. Preferably Black and Decker or kitchen aid. Yes, this is what I have been asking for every year for about 3 years now. Why can't they seem to remember?

Oh well...guess I'll just have to buy it myself.

Easter went well, normal family gathering. Food, chatter, Easter basket hunt, Nerf shootout.

Speaking of Nerf shootout, which Mike and I did in the living room of my folks house and had a great time and had many laughs from everyone, I went to go practice for trap the day before Easter. Took a friend to come watch, he had a good time and was fascinated with it.

Wish me luck on May 11, that is when the corporate challenge trap shooting competition is. I am in it as the female shooter for my company. So nervous. I average between 15 and 18 per round out of 25. I would love to get closer to 20 but I need to practice more. Ammunition is not cheap, however.

So now we come to this last weekend, we finally made it to our favorite local bar and checked out the updates they had done, new floor, new seating, new TVs, and new menu. We had the pepper jack bites, which they kept from the old menu, and then Mike had the Saint's Burger (signature burger with bacon, cheese, and lettuce and tomato and onion and a Jack Daniels sauce. Looked amazing. I had a grilled chicken bowl. It had grilled chicken, shredded jack cheese, corn, mashed potato and gravy. It was quite delicious. We hit it up on the right night too since it was $2 anything behind the bar. We each had a drink with our dinner and called it a night.

Now we come to this weekend. Last night was the travel time to Mike's and today we slept in and kind of bummed around. A rest day. Then I made dinner. A Mac & Cheese Chicken Veggie Casserole. It was ok, not fabulous but edible and tasty.

It needed more flavor pop, chicken needed salt and pepper and the cheese needed to be more spread out through the pasta. But all in all, something we can improve upon to have as a quick and easy family dinner staple.

The recipe is simple and comes from Country Crock.

Easy Mac & Cheese Veggie Chicken Casserole:
Ingredients-
4 Tbsp country crock spread, melted, divided
1 cup 2% milk (used 1%)
8 oz dry rotini pasta, cooked and drained
2 cups diced COOKED chicken breast
4 cups assorted frozen vegetables, thawed (used California mix)
2 1/4 cup finely shredded low fat cheddar cheese
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions-
Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.

If using raw chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until 80% done. Then dice.

Cook past according to package directions, about 7 min in boiling water.

Combine 3 Tbsp Country Crock spread, milk, cooked rotini, cooked chicken, thawed vegetables and cheddar cheese in a large bowl and spread into an 8 inch baking dish/casserole dish.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and remaining margarine in a small bowl; sprinkle over top of casserole.

Bake until heated through and crumbs are toasted. About 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Like I said, it needs more flavor. Seasoning. Maybe more salt and pepper and some garlic powder. Something to round it out and give it some depth. Not bad though.

Tomorrow is turkey scouting day, will also be a RushFit day and maybe a good 1 - 2 mile run. Shall see I suppose.

So what is in store for the upcoming weekends? Well, Mike will be turkey hunting, so hopefully we will have some upcoming wild turkey recipes for you. Also, I will be in the Color Me Rad race for KC next weekend and then April 27 I will be in the Warrior Dash 5k. In May I have trap on the 11th and then on the 12th I have a 5k walk with my mom for Mother's Day. So the upcoming months are busy and packed full of fun, adventure, and mystery *as usual right ;) *

So get out there, have fun, and go cook something!

Chicken Vegetable Soup

So Mike and I have actually had 12 whole days together - well he worked for part of that and went hunting, but I still got him :)

So we actually cooked this week, novel idea right?

So first we made chicken vegetable soup - delicious right? right

I had chicken in the freezer and Sunday we pulled that out and went and bought some veggies to go with.

I had spinach in the fridge that also needed using since it was starting to wilt in places...eek! Gotta get those greens in.

So we went to Hyvee and picked up zucchini, mushrooms, canned diced and seasoned tomatoes, corn, and some chicken broth.

It's super simple to make soup folks. Make sure you have some stock of some sort (veggie, beef, chicken, hell - duck stock will work too). Whatever floats your boat right?

So we took some onion, and spinach and cooked that down. Then added in mushrooms, zucchini, corn, and diced tomatoes. We didn't need a lot of stock since the tomato juice and corn juice worked pretty well as the stock. We added Italian herbs and some southwest spice that I have sitting around in my spice drawer.

It ended up tasting pretty great, had it with homemade white bread, from my Bread Bible recipe book. I can't say this white bread was my favorite, the traditional bread machine white bread that I made last week was way better. Less funk in the aftertaste, that makes no sense ha ha. Has a similar taste to Mighty Melt bread though, just wrong texture - getting closer maybe?

Mike went hunting, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday mornings. By Tuesday he was tired, but he got the time in and was able to hang out with some friends too. All in all, that's time well spent. Of course, it's strange to have him pass out by 8 pm every night when I'm used to him staying up till at least 10 or 11. That's what early mornings do to you.

So guys, go out and cook. Make some soup for sure, since it's chilly out there now. Will warm you right up.

Honoring the Way of Cast Iron

Honoring the Way of Cast Iron

Hello there fellow foodies on a mission.  Well it is Mike again instead of Sarah for this installment.  Well I have been fascinated by cast iron lately.  I bought a 12 in pan a few weeks back and got a 8 in pan from my late grandmother.  I never saw her use it but it got me thinking about how cast iron was such an amazing way to cook that everyone used it.  Now days few people cook with them.  I have attempted once or twice to cook with cast iron but was not drooling over it.  The cleaning is a pain and you have to take great care of them or they will not be that great.  So this time I cleared my mind of all previous thoughts.  I searched the web for a chicken recipe using cast iron.  What do you think I found?  Fried chicken, fried steak, what ever it was it was fried.  Not the healthiest choices for Sarah and I.  We are trying to eat better, well she already does but MY food choices had been very poor and unhealthy.  On the good side though I have been eating healthier so I had to think how to cook healthier.  So I thought smothered chicken.  

I wanted something other than chicken breasts so I went with Tyson boneless skinless chicken thighs, onions,  green pepper, garlic, mushrooms and mixed tomatoes.  I heated the cast iron skillet up and seared the chicken thighs on the front and back.

So while the chicken seared I sliced up the onion and green peppers.  I asked Sarah to mince up some garlic.  Onions and garlic go together like bacon and eggs or a BLT sandwich.  I just love the smells of onions and garlic, so fragrant and aromatic.  Focus Mike, sorry folks my mouth was watering and distracted me.  So I started cooking the green peppers and onions  since I knew they would take longer.  I asked Sarah to bottom off the mushrooms, which she did.  Once she bottomed the mushrooms, I sliced up the mushrooms and added them to the black pool.

Once the mushrooms were added, I love how they absorb flavors,  I think of them as my flavor sponges.  So to have them soak up some flavor on top of the garlic and onions  I poured a little Marsala wine in the pot and let them soak up the flavor.  I am no wine expert and not even a wine enthusiast but I do love cooking with it to add depth to the flavor profile.  Once everyone was in the pool and had started to catch the rays and tan a little and get a little loose from the wine.  Everyone knows how alcohol makes people loose and relaxed.  Wait a second this is food not people, oh well you know what I have rambled on about.  I added some Italian seasoned diced tomatoes from a can and Rotel tomato sauce for that little bit of kick.

So once that all the flavors had blended and socialized they enjoyed the steady steam and heat from the cast iron.  I was impressed at how well I was able to regulate and keep the cooking temperature where I wanted it.  I was always afraid that it was going to burn and stick but it did not.  During the whole time I was cooking the main dish, Sarah was trying her own side dish.  Sarah was making goat cheese and roasted pepper crostini.  Well I can not do her cooking justice so now is her time to write.  I know you enjoy her writing style better anyways.

Hey all, psshhhaw, we love reading your portions too. The recipe caught my eye online. Looked delicious and tasty. Of course I also love goat cheese, well I do love cheese in general, just in moderation due to fat and calories. Everything in moderation.

So it required a french baguette, I picked up a small one at my local whole foods and then grabbed a small pkg of goat cheese, 4 oz I believe. Of course while I was perusing the goat cheese shelf at Whole Foods I was thinking about the herbs and everything they required for this recipe. That is when I saw the Mediterranean and garlic herb goat cheese. Ooooo yes!! PERFECT! So I figured I would use that instead of having to buy fresh basil, which I hate doing because they charge sooo much for it, I should just start growing that in my kitchen on the window sill. Hmm, ideas brewing here.

    

So I began by roasting the peppers in the oven for about 10 min right under the broiler, at 500 degrees, and turned them halfway through roasting. After they were blackened on the skin and toasty I tossed them in a zip top bag playing hot potato with them as I picked them up.

While the peppers were roasting and steaming, to make the skin easy to peel off, I sliced up the bread into nice two bite pieces and spread with olive oil on both sides and then popped in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 min, until toasted. While they were still warm I took a halved garlic clove and rubbed it on one side of the toasts. From there I peeled the peppers and cut into nice slices for topping. I took about a teaspoon of cheese per toast, we had 12 crostini. I then topped with a slice of red and yellow pepper and placed on a plate to serve.

Aren't they pretty? Mike, Roomie, and I definitely liked them, we each had 4. Delicious, simple, and so tasty. I definitely recommend this for anyone that wants a super easy appetizer that looks like you took forever to make. They are pretty and finger food. Perfect for parties or even just to jazz up dinner a little. You could top with a little drizzle of olive oil or even some herbs if you want, a slice of basil leaf or even some chopped tomato if you want to get fancy or creative. Have fun and make something new. Back to you Mike!

Well now that Sarah has finished her portion of this installment we can wrap this meal up and assemble the troops for an assault on the taste buds of the mouth.  I try to think my taste buds are season and grizzly troops eager for the next battle.  Like a bunch of Marines that have been on a boat with a bunch of Navy guys.  They get off the boat and are looking for that excitement and ass kicking.  So to combat the veteran taste buds I found a Birds Eye frozen mushroom and green bean risotto for a side.  Chicken, rice and crostini sounds like a formidable foe for the taste buds.   If you noticed a normally have red plates for my dishes but I wanted a little better pop from the white plate and colors from the orange and red colors of the crostini, the green from the risotto and the red from the chicken.

Well that is it, no more of me rambling.  Hope you enjoyed today's blog.  So go out and cook and enjoy life.

St. Louis weekend getaway and meet the family

Well hello there bloggers and readers and anyone who happens to stumble upon this blog Mike and I call ours.

This past weekend we did not cook or even remotely try. I can't say I have really baked either. I did bake Gooey Butter Cupcakes (sorry, no recipe for you, I think only one other person has my recipe and she's not telling).

I made the cupcakes so that when visiting St. Louis I could give some to Mike's parents as well as leave two for Roomie while the rest went to work with me to be devoured and made to vanish. Those things are dangerously addictive and I blame Mike for introducing me to this evil thing called gooey butter cake. But then again I'm not complaining and neither is he, provided I don't bake it for a month straight. Sorry honey, was experimenting and thank you for being my Guinea pig ;)

So we were off to St. Louis on Friday afternoon. I drove to the halfway point where we swapped and picked up McDonald's for lunch. A mid twenties couple walking into McDonald's and ordering two chicken McNugget kids meals. That's not strange at all. Well, it's not in our book. It was easy, fast, and relatively low in calories considering the other options at said establishment. So we were off, with food in our bellies and 2 more hours to drive.

We arrived in St. Louis to stop at the local sporting goods store in Pevely, MO to pick up a new Benelli shotgun that Mike has wanted. Was a fun detour as we walked around and waited for paperwork to be processed.

Once we were finished it was off to the hotel to check in before meeting up with the parents to have dinner.

Can I just say, the hotel bathroom was fan-freaking-tastic!! We have stayed in other hotels where you have to slide into the bathroom to even shut the door, basically stand on the toilet to do so. We have also stayed in hotels where you feel as if the walls are closing in around you as you shower. This was none of those. Sure it was just a standard king room but the room was big enough for both of us, plus exercise room (this is important when doing Insanity). Then the bathroom had the marvelous shower with the giant shower head, a little seat and just a great amount of room to be able to move comfortably. We I actually said goodbye to the shower when we left Sunday morning.

We ate at a local Chinese place for dinner that night and conversation was a bit on the quiet side, was a little strange, but really meeting people for the first time is always a bit strange. The food was tasty, I confused the poor waiter by asking for my chicken and vegetables to be steamed with the sauce on the side. I know, so difficult. Mike ended up explaining that for me while you could see the light bulb finally turn on for the waiter. I always enjoy trying to explain to the oriental waiters and servers. It's challenging and fun all at the same time.

So then after dinner we went out with some friends and then crashed so we could be up at 7 AM to go shooting with his dad. So off we went to the range to shoot pistols and a bit more.

Putting the new toy together

Shooting down those pesky metal plates

Father and Son investigating a small problem

No I didn't just stand around and take pictures of the men-folk shooting guns. AK, Revolver and .45. I got in on that action too and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Mike said he was impressed with how I did and told me I did very well for never having shot a pistol before. My cluster was pretty consistent and I did hit center a few times :) That made me happy. I have a great teacher and I definitely will be wanting to shoot again.

After shooting we went to see what the cowboys were up to, not the football team, actual people dressed up like John Wayne. Shooting competition. It was comical to see the costumes and get ups but also fun to watch them do their thing. There were even old men scampering to get to their next station to get a better time. It was interesting to watch for sure. It was even set up in this little ghost town feel section of the gun range. So fun.

So after shooting it was back to the hotel where we were to workout and do insanity, after only doing 1/2 my insanity Friday and still feeling sore in the knee and foot Mike and I decided to hit the hotel fitness room and run and do weights - sadly we came to find there were no weights so we were limited to just treadmills and bikes. I ran my 2 miles, Mike ran 1.5 I believe and then he got on the bike until I finished my run. After that we did a little bit of calisthenics and called it a workout.

Soon we were off again after freshening up and headed back to the parents house so we could go to Gramma's and check on some things. We ended up taking some things home, cupcake pans and a spring form pan with an insert for me (you will be seeing recipes hehe) and then he took home some silver, a tray, electric pitcher, candle holders, and fondue type pot. Then he also had pot holders, you know the homemade kind from yarn? yeah, those. Well evidently he had burnt one of Roomie's homemade ones and wanted to replace it. It's not THE potholder but it's the gesture and thought. She laughed when seeing it and said "But mine was from my grandmother, who is dead." So then Mike just said "this is from my dead grandmother." Even Stevens right? hehe, Roomie is a good sport and just laughs and says thank you for the thought and kindness. He also found an electric carving knife - which will be well used on roasts and birds - then a carving knife set with the knives and fork. So we came home with some fun little extras.

We did eat well at mom and dad's for dinner Saturday. Enjoyed pork steaks, quail, mac and cheese, corn on the cob and some salad. Was a good Missouri dinner, with the Missouri Tigers football game on in the background. MIZ-ZOU! (and EMAW for my team). We had a great time with the family, lots of laughs and I just get a kick out of them. They are good people and funny to be around.

Mizzou did win as did KSU so both sides are happy for NCAAFB.

Sunday morning we awoke early, 6 AM, to go skeet shooting. Well, I went in thinking I wasn't going to hit a damn thing. I figured I would get laughed at by the old men and just shrug and say, "Oh well." Come to find I'm not as bad as I thought. I hit 7 out of 25 clay birds on my first real skeet shoot!! WOW!! :) Super stoked that I was able to accomplish that.

Dad, Mike, and Dave

We had a great time shooting and I shot Mike's new shotgun, too long and a righty to boot. :) I'm just awesome like that. I guess I even impressed the old guys there by hitting what I did and as many as I did with the little experience I have. Of course being a lefty they all noticed right off too. I found that being a lefty had it's benefit. Loading a righty shotgun as a lefty is a WHOLE lot easier than it is for a righty. I'm not reaching around the gun to load. Hehe, points for me.

Dad shooting Mike's new gun

I also enjoyed just chilling out with the boys - not unusual as men are more fun typically to hang out with than women, less drama, easy going, and laid back. I also just had fun shooting.

Mike setting up and looking awesome

So while I was shooting I was just waiting for someone to bring up that I was a girl. Well, I was the only woman there that morning. It took a bit but at one point I was all set up ready to go, much like Mike is in the picture directly above, and Don, one of his dad's friends, was behind me and said "That's the best view we've had here in a long time." I just turned and smiled and laughed. I then said "I'll play along," and proceeded to shake my booty. We all just laughed and had a good time. Don apologized and said it would be the only time but it doesn't bother me with old guys. It's comical and it's really hard to offend this Kansas girl.

All in all the weekend was a total blast, had sooo much fun and wish it had been longer.

We made the 3 hour drive home that night and proceeded to not cook, again. Stopped at Taco Bell for lunch and had a local restaurant for dinner upon arriving back at Mike's. We then vegged.

And Mike played with my phone. It was nice to chill and not move at that point after being in the car for 3 hours. 

The next day it was back to work. Boo Monday's. But we both made dinner for ourselves too. Mike had bought two great steaks and cooked those with some mashed potatoes and asparagus while I went with rotisserie chicken, sweet potato, and peppers and onions.

Dinner a la Sarah

Dinner a la Mike

So go out and cook folks, even though we didn't until Monday. ;)

Mike's Chicken Marsala Tomato pasta

Hello Mike here, yes it is Mike and not Sarah.  I usually allow her to write the blogs since she tends to have a great way of wording things.  I am more of a blunt and simple guy but I am going to try today with my Chicken Marsala Tomato pasta.

So I was hungry and wanting to cook something easier so I came up with this meal.  I wanted chicken in a tomato sauce over some pasta.  I started to think of what veggies to add in with the chicken.  I had some carrots that needed to be used, so they went in.  Next was mushrooms because they just absorb flavors so well.  Third veggie was sweet peas.  I went with canned sweet peas instead of frozen since my roomie has a bunch of junk in the freezer and no room for a bag of peas.  I was looking at pasta at Walmart and decided upon whole wheat penne pasta.

Now time to cook, I just enjoy cooking.  It is a way for me to relax and it usually tastes good.  I can not say it always tastes good though unfortunately.  So I started the water for the pasta.  I put some roasted garlic olive oil in a pot of water and some sea salt.  I thought the garlic olive oil would help but I think it was a waste of expensive oil, good thing it was free thanks Wendy.  I use the oil to flavor the pasta some and to keep the water from boiling over.  How does the oil keep it from boiling over you ask.  Well the oil breaks the surface tension of the water and prevents it from boiling over.  Sarah accomplishes the same thing by placing a wooden spoon across the top of the pot, so when the water boils up it breaks the surface tension when it touches the spoon.  So I turned on the burner under the water and started browning the chicken, I seasoned with S&P, in a different pan.

I was about done with the chicken browning and looked over at the water.  It was not boiling.  How is it not boiling yet, the electric rings are not even glowing yet.  Oh that is right I rent an apartment and the stove is not top quality or even mediocre quality.  I guessed the ring was not getting a solid connection in the stove top so I moved the pot to a different burner and started again.  Since I was waiting for water to boil I poured some Marsala wine into the pan to get a nice steamed wine facial and scrap the brown goodness off of the bottom of the pan. The smell of the Marsala wine started to fill my apartment up.  Finally the water is boiling so I put my pasta in its bath of oil and salt.

Now that the pasta is cooking I can start more on my sauce.  I had juilenned  two carrots into small pieces.  Knowing they will take a while to cook I put those in with the chicken.  I added a can of Rotel sauce into the pot with the chicken.  Not a can of Rotel tomatoes and peppers but just a can of sauce.  I added a little more Marsala into the pan.  I sliced up three baby button mushrooms and add them to the pan with a little more Marsala.  The mushrooms just absorb the flavor of the Marsala so well along with the tomato sauce flavor.  I added some Italian seasoning into the pot, I need to add some more for next time.  Finally I added a little over have a small can of Del Monte sweet peas to the pan

All the kids in the pool

My pasta took longer to cook than expected, even after the water was boiling.  So I had to add a little more Marsala to keep the sauce from thicken up to tight.  No, it was not a lot of Marsala.  It just seems like it.  In reality my pours of Marsala are very small, probably close to an ounce with each pour.  So the final product was ready to combine.  Next time I will add the pasta in the pan with the sauce and stir it around to help the pasta take on the sauce.  I added some Parmesan cheese because everything is better with cheese, don't let Sarah convince you otherwise.

Final product not super pretty but not bad.

Sarah has gotten my eating healthier and proper serving sizes.  To help with that she got me using myfitnesspal.com app for my phone.  I used the app to make my recipe.  I determined it was three servings of sauce and 242 calories per serving.  That is only a rough estimate from the app, just FYI.

Then later in the night I felt like an adult beverage.  Sarah and I have a recipe called a Yummy Gummy vodka drink.  The drink has 2 oz or Pinnacle Gummy vodka, 2 oz of Triple Sec and 4 oz of sweet and sour mix.  I have to stir it up since I do not have a shaker.  Yes the drink may seem girlie but if it tastes good and is half full of alcohol then it sounds like a good drink to me.  Who needs to drink something that is only somewhat tasty and weak on the alcohol, aka beer.  I am a more of hard alcohol drinker over beer.

Yummy Gummy vodka drink

So in closing "Get out and cook."  What better way to bond with the family or just relax by yourself than seeing your work turn out well and taste so good.

Great minds think of Chicken Fajitas

Tonight Mike and I made dinner at our respective apartments. Although, by chance we both had chicken fajitas on the brain - in a sense. He was more direct about his fajita desire than I was. I had polenta at home and chicken, then what do do with it....

So he asked what he should use for his fajitas. I suggested the usual suspects of toppings: bell peppers, onion, garlic, add some mushroom for fun. Of course seasoning is just a packet of fajita seasoning as it's easier than experimenting with seasonings randomly - though that is a fun thing to do sometimes, can get tricky but is fun to find new and fun flavor combinations.

I just needed to find something to go with polenta and chicken. He suggested I pick up shrimp, but being the cheapskate I am I chose not to get shrimp. Though I did pick up red onion, mushrooms and a green bell pepper for the mix. Then I said cheddar cheese would be good too - he suggested to mix it in the polenta or even just sprinkle on top. I did more of a sandwich in the middle. He ended up forgetting cheese with his altogether.

Being the foodies we are we talk about these things back and forth via text and pictures. Of course prior to his shopping spree he tells me he doesn't like doing legs then cardio at the gym. I of course giggle to myself at work when I see that and the picture because I have been there. (This is why I do cardio first).

Handsome man getting his sweat on.

 So after getting this handsome picture I was finally off work and off to the store to pick up the needed ingredients for my fresh and unprocessed dinner. (polenta was homemade folks).

I whisked myself off to Whole Foods, rarely do I shop there, since I only had a few things to grab and it ultimately would cost the same in gas to get to Hyvee and such. So, WF it was. I then snapped a cute pic of myself while heading back to my car with my small sack of veggies.(The little boy helping the bagger was cute in that he wanted more groceries to bag but I didn't have a lot - his reaction was funny and the employee said "She's a no nonsense lady today - knew exactly what she wanted" then smiled at me as I left. - another reason I like WF - friendly and happy employees).

So as I get in my car and head home I receive "flowers" from Mike.

"Flowers to brighten your day." - Mike

He's a sweetie if you couldn't tell.

So home I go and unload my veggies onto the counter and prepare them. Chicken in the skillet browning up with some garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper (basic). Then I get the veggies started and get the onions opaque and the mushrooms browned while the peppers still have a slight crunch to them.

The polenta was made last night in a crock-pot - pretty basic. 4 cups water (boiling) then add 1 cup yellow (or white) cornmeal until desired thickness. It will thicken as it sits - also make sure to stir or it will get lumpy and chunky.

I also found a delicious looking peach while at the store. I had to have it and eat something sweet so I sliced that up and added it to my dinner. Yes I am using a compartmentalized "tray" of sorts. My inner child came out and my peaches weren't touching my hot food. 

Chicken and Vegetable Cheddar Polenta a la Sarah

He also used bell pepper (red), red onion, chicken and mushrooms. He also used a poblano pepper, black bean corn salsa and fajita seasoning. 


He's really good at chopping up veggies with his "ninja knives." as you can see he has some mad skills. Uniform and pretty.

He browned up the chicken with the seasoning and some lime juice for added flavor and depth. (Yumm!)

Looks like he cooked up the corn salsa in a pot and made it that way, corn and black beans and spices. Then he added the chicken and veggies together. Beautiful! Makes your mouth water doesn't it? It's making mine water and I'm still full from dinner.

To serve he wrapped it all up in a jalapeno cheddar flour tortilla - he forgot to add cheese to his burrito but from the sounds of it it didn't' really need it.

Lime Chicken Fajita Burrito a la Mike

Great minds right? He had his twist on fajita style chicken and I had mine. We both had delicious dinners that hit the spot and filled us up to the top. I felt like rolling around my living room because of how full I was. I'm not sure if he felt the same way. He said the heat in his burrito snuck up on him a bit but was delicious. He called it "very good" and when I said "yumm" in response to the photo he said "very." That is what we call a successful dinner. When Mike says very, very good. Then it's a good dinner.

I can't wait to see what this weekend brings for food...guess we will just have to wait and see what our minds conceive this time for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Let us know if there is something we should try out or if you just want to know a recipe.