Sloshed in the Garden

Want to hear something pretty amazing? I spent the evening hanging out with my mom, sans a screaming, whining, temper-tantrum throwing terrible two. It was a glorious few hours, one filled with wandering through artfully sculpted gardens, listening to the dulcet tones of bullfrogs, and a Beefeater's Gin and Tonic.

Ahhh.

Oh, yeah, and there were some dance performances.

My mom, who has been reviewing dance for The Backstage Beat in Atlanta, took me to the Atlanta Ballet's Wabi Sabi performance series at the Atlanta Botanical Garden this evening (you can read some of her past reviews here). It just so happens that Thursdays are Cocktails in the Garden nights, so not only did I get to feel cultural, I got to do so while holding an alcoholic beverage in my hand (Wow, that's a lot of links for one paragraph. To celebrate, here's one more).

Anyway, the whole experience was great fun. We left E with my dad, brother, and my brother's friend, then took off for Atlanta (about a 20 minute drive). The Garden opened for the event at 6, the dancing started at 7, and we arrived in Midtown at 5. I talked my mom into running by the Ga Tech Bookstore so I could buy E a few things for the upcoming football season, which was only icing on the cake. It was also sort of depressing that I graduated more than 4 years ago, that I no longer have the privilege of  being on such a wonderful campus every day, and that they have completely changed the parking system in Technology Square. No individual meters anymore?! What the what?! Totally blew me away. I mean, seriously, I move to Washington and they completely turn the place upside down!

Well, I ended up spending way too much on toddler clothing (but oh-so-cute!), all in less than 20 minutes.  Then we were back in the car and at the garden not 15 minutes later. Surprise, surprise.

So, we headed in and explored the garden while we waited for our 7:15 dance performance. It was pretty nice, but then, it was also a bunch of plants. I'm not really sure what it is I was supposed to be enjoying, other than the bullfrog pond in the children's garden, but it seemed like something I totally don't understand... And I felt incredibly uncultured, because I didn't bring along my kid. Guess we'll have to save up for a really nice private school to make up for it. And take some art classes every Tuesday and Thursday at the community center (or something).

The dance was good, and that's coming from a lay-person. Look for my mom's actual write up in a few days (day? I have no idea). I don't want to detract from it here. But the performances were nice. Inspirational even! It's definitely got me thinking about the next book... You know, for when I have finished the two I have already started and one I am going to rewrite. There were definitely a few I liked better than others, but all-in-all, I think they were pretty strong performances. The dancers were wonderful, the choreography was new (to me) and the music was in pretty good taste.

I got a nice drink for a reasonable price ($7 a mixed drink, and they used top-shelf liquor!), and time outside in a nice setting. I would totally do it again. And recommend the Gardens on Thirsty Thursdays for a date night. It would make an awesome date. No joke.

...It's 2:20 and I forgot what my point was. But, whatever it is, there you have it. I'm going to sleep now.

Flippin' Amazing Spinach, Feta Casserole (Meatless)

I've been in a recipe rut; I've gotten tired of most of the stuff I have made for dinner recently, and everything that sounds good is "summery."

...Yeah... The weather here? 50s.

Ugh, I guess I can just add this to the list of reasons Washington makes me want to gouge my eyes out with rusty spoons (yeah, I totally stole that from you, Amanda).

So, last night I got on pinterest to see if I could find some dinner inspiration. Out of the 248 recipes I have pinned to my Tasty album, only one of them caught my eye:

Spinach and Feta Casserole with Brown Rice and Parmesan from  kalynskitchen.com

However, in my true fashion, I didn't follow the recipe. At all. Sure, some of the ingredients are the same and the end result looks very similar, but the two recipes are very different. I'm assuming. Obviously, I have no idea, since I didn't make the above. The the below is fantastic. I know it's a little obnoxious to toot my own horn, but I am pretty sure this picture of E's bowl will convince you:

Yeah... this ONLY happens when I make her sweet potatoes.

What you'll need:

Casserole dish with glass lid
Cooking spray
2 cups brown rice, cooked
1 large red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz fresh spinach, chopped
8 oz mushrooms
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup feta cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sage
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried parsley
1/8 red pepper flakes (I used 1/4, but it was a little spicier than the recipe needs)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, Fahrenheit.
2.  After chopping everything up, mix the spinach, onions, garlic, mushrooms and HOT rice together in a greased casserole dish. You want the rice to still be hot so that it helps the spinach wilt.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together beat the eggs with a fork until they are smooth and evenly yellow. Add the milk, mixing well. Whisk in the herbs until everything is evenly distributed.

3. Add a cup of crumbled feta cheese, folding it into the mixture so that it is well-covered.

4. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and rice. Mix it well.

5. Cover (I have a glass lid... not sure if that makes a difference?) and pop that sucker in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the edges start to bubble and the spinach has completely wilted. Remove and serve while it's still hot.

This will definitely be served at my house, again. It was delicious. I will probably make it my new night-before-PT-test dinner, since it was light and fresh and good for you (you know, minus the cheese, milk, and eggs). This probably easily serves 4 VERY hungry adults, or 6 regularly hungry adults as a meal, but I would asume it would work wonderfully as a side dish, as well. I can see it with chicken or fish or maybe even pork chops. We ate less than half of it between the three of us... Although, I am about to go grab another bite...

P.S. Next time, I am going to be sure to have fresh herbs. Nothing is better than fresh!!!

Uber Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

(Before I get started, I realize that I used the word "uber" incorrectly... I just don't care).

Last night, I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner. He told me he wanted something with chicken and pasta.

I was up to the challenge.

If you pay any attention to the food pins on Pinterist you've probably seen some of the macaroni and cheese recipes that require nothing but a pot, milk, macaroni, and cheese. This one, for example, from whiteonricecouple.com. I decided to put the method to the test, and couple it with my usual Cajun chicken and vegetables.

My husband called it "amazing." I thought it was a little bit more of a pain in the ass than pinners the world-round let on. But it still tasted pretty awesome and it was a nice consistency. I'll probably use the method, again, and for shits and giggles, though I would share our dinner with my six faithful readers.

You're Welcome.



Uber Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

What you'll need:
2 chicken breasts
2 green bell peppers, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
8 oz pasta (I used cellentani)
3 cups whole milk
2 slices pepper jack cheese (I used Sargento pre-sliced)
1/4 cup Sargento 6 cheese Italian, shredded
2 tsp butter
Old Bay seasoning
Cajun seasoning (I used Emeril's)
Salt
Pepper

1. Cover chicken breasts with equal parts Old Bay and Cajun seasoning until they are covered. Add salt and pepper to taste. I let them "marinate" in the refrigerator for about 4 hours, but only because I was bored and needed something to do at the time.

2. In a medium sauce pan, heat 2 cups of milk, bringing to a simmer/boil (Note: I started the milk in a double boiler to keep it from burning. It really never got hot enough, so I had to move it to a regular sauce pan. If you start out with the sauce pan, be sure you are standing by to stir continuously). This will take awhile, so get started on the chicken and veggies.

3. In a skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add garlic and stir for approximately a minute.

4. Add chicken and cover. Let cook for about 3 minutes, then flip. Re-cover.

5. Add the onions and mushrooms around the chicken. Sprinle with seasoning to taste, and then re-cover.

6. Your milk should be about to the simmering point. Add in the pasta, and let it come back up to a boil (roil, big simmer... Whatever. Milk doesn't really boil...). You'll want to be stirring to keep it from burning (nothing smells worse than burnt milk, by the way). Add the additional milk as needed to keep the pasta cooking (you don't want it to drink it all up before it's done all the way through).

7. Back to the veggies/chicken: Once the onions have started to soften, add the bell peppers. Cover.

8. Once the peppers have softened, slice the chicken thinly and mix it in with the vegetables. I slice it in the pan, but you can remove it, slice it, then throw it back in. I like to cook the chicken breasts whole, first, because they stay juicier that way. When you slice them, they will release some of their juices. It's tasty. I promise. Once the chicken is cooked through, turn off heat and cover to keep warm.

9. Okay, back to the pasta. Again. The pasta should be soaking up the milk as it cooks. Once the pasta is cooked through, remove it from the heat and quickly throw in the cheese (The pasta, as a whole, took about 35 minutes from heating up the milk to finish).

10. Stir cheese in until it is melted through.

11. Spoon pasta into bowl and cover with chicken/veggie mixture.

12. Mix. Eat. Enjoy.

I really need to get better about my presentation before I snap the picture.

Tasty Smothered Chicken

I should probably come up with a catchier name for this recipe. Like "Cowboy Chicken" or "Cluck Cluck Chicken" or "Chicken a La Oink." But I'm not that clever. And not that interested.

Anyway, this is a quick dinner that is always well-received. I'm sure I am not the only one to have a recipe in this vein. In fact, I am sure something similar is floating around pinterest even as I type this, but if there is... I didn't pin it. Or bother reading the recipe. This one is all me and it's pretty freakin' fantastic. According to my husband and kid, anyway (though, to be fair, the kid mostly just eats the barbecue sauce...). 

And just to tempt you some more, the critics (my husband) describe it as:

"Delicious."

"Incredibly Delicious"

and

"Barbecuey"

So, without further ado:

Tasty Smothered Chicken

What You'll Need:

2 large chicken breasts (4 small ones)
4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup barbecue sauce (I use 1/2 cup of 2 separate sauces)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Glass Pan

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease Pan (this is a tough recipe, did I mention that?)

2. Place chicken in pan, pretty side up. I used two large chicken breasts, cut in half.

3. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

4. As I mentioned above, I like to mix two barbecue sauces together--a sweet, molasses-based sauce like Sweet Baby Rays, and a more southern, spicy sauce (I love Stubbs, and was just able to get it in the PNW... but only at Costco).

5. Spoon about a third of the barbecue sauce [mixture] over the chicken.

6. Place half of the cheese (I used a spicy buffalo cheddar) over the chicken and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

7. Smother with the remaining barbecue sauce, being sure to cover the cheese, and place in oven on the middle rack. Let cook through (about 30 minutes).

8. Remove chicken and set oven to broil.

9. Place remaining cheese over the chicken and return to oven.

10. Let cheese melt under broiler (< 5 minutes).

11. Serve!

Spice Things Up in the Kitchen

Obviously, I have been less than stellar at updating this past weekend. But, I have good enough reason: Game of Thrones, True Blood, sunny days, and my husband's birthday.

We've been a little caught up with HBO. Which I am definitely not complaining about; Game of Thrones has finally helped me get back into writing. After being gone visiting my parents, I had been a little out of the habit and in need of a little push. I am on the verge of breaking 60,000 words, which gets me about halfway. Getting some good-ole-fashioned fantasy on the brain has helped immensely to get me to the peak of halfway.

Anyway, since I have nothing of real worth to post about, I thought I would make a quick list of some fast dinner fixes I tried this last week (completely made up from my own head, so there really is no "recipe" to write up).

• Grilled vegetables brushed with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and cilantro. I made a spicy coconut-and-pecan crusted shrimp for dinner last night to go with ginger and lemongrass rice. I threw some zucchini and yellow squash onto the grill  with the shrimp and used the left over chili sauce and cilantro marinade over the veggies--it was fantastic and a nice departure from the usual olive oil and Italian herbs approach I normally take. (Seriously. Chopped cilantro and that sauce. That's it. Done).
• That ginger and lemongrass rice I mentioned? Yeah, throw some fresh lemon grass, a tablespoon or so of minced ginger, a couple cloves of garlic, chopped cilantro, and fresh basil into the pot (or rice cooker) and just let it go. Great flavor.
• Cream cheese stuffed chicken. Don't tell my vegan mother. She might have a heart attack. I had planned to use mascapone I had left over from the quiche I made a couple weeks ago, but it had grown some rather unappealing looking spots, so I ended up using regular Philadelphia brand cream cheese instead. I mixed it with some pepper, a little salt, minced garlic, fresh basil, shredded spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes. I rolled it up into a couple chicken breasts, and voila. Dinner. It was fantastic with a brandy reduction sauce and steamed mix of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.
• Savory whipped sweet potatoes. I usually make my sweet potatoes with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, but changing it up a bit was actually a pretty good idea. Try them with a little salt, scallions, and paprika. Very tasty.
• Real Guac. One of my friends posted about getting real guacamole a few weeks ago. It reminded me how much I love a real, fresh guacamole. And it makes a great side or salad. Just chop up a couple avocados, a large tomato, mince up about about a quarter of a red onion, a clove of garlic, and stir. Spritz the juice of half a lime and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Fantastic.

I'm trying to come up with some new and exciting things for dinner around here, so keep your eye out for new recipes. Next time I promise I will have colorful pictures and actual recipes (not just my usual "that looks about right" approach).

How Tofu Murdered My Kettle

So... No more kettle. It's in about 5 different pieces in the trash right now. All because I decided we needed to have tofu for dinner one night this weekend.

I really like tofu, especially when it's cooked right. I'm sure a lot of people could argue with me over what is "right," but unless they agree with me, they're wrong. I prefer my tofu crispy on the outside and firm on the inside. I really can't stand when it's too soft, runny, and not even browned on the outside. If it looks like flan, I'd rather not touch it.

Unfortunately, when we were eating vegan last year, it took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to get the tofu that way. There is a Vietnamese/Thai/Japanese restaurant around the corner that cooked it just right--I could eat their tofu all day long (and with their peanut sauce... oh, yum). But spending $30 for dinner for two was just getting expensive, so I set out to do it on my own. I mean, how hard could it be?

Hard. Very, very hard.

(That's what she said).

Anyway, after about 5 attempts, I learned that the type of tofu is very important (hint: buy the stuff found in your produce section, not the stuff you find with the soy sauce). After buying the right stuff, you want to suck as much moisture out of the tofu as possible. The best way to do that is treat the tofu like an eggplant: salt it, lay it over some paper towels, and press it with something heavy.

And, as you guessed it, my kettle makes a perfect heavy pressing object. I filled that sucker up, put it on top of one of my cutting boards, and stacked it on the tofu. After about an hour, I changed out the paper towels (which were soaking wet--score!), flipped the tofu over, and went back on my merry way. And about 30 minutes later, there was a loud crash and my kettle was dead on the floor, little pieces of black handle everywhere and water flooding the kitchen.

Sad for my kettle.

So, the lesson to take from this story: If you want to murder your kettle, make tofu for dinner.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

A couple weeks ago, I found a recipe on pinterest for a buffalo chicken chili. I pinned the recipe, but never actually went to read the it. The idea, however, stuck in my head, and since the hubby thought the idea sounded pretty good, too, I decided to make up my own for dinner. It could be exactly like the one I found on pinterest. It could be totally different. I have no idea. It's actually pretty freaking fantastic--even Endelyn had seconds!--so I thought I would share.

(Also, I think you could probably easily do this in the crock pot... but since I prefer mine to just sit around gathering dust, I couldn't tell you for sure.)

What You'll Need:

2 chicken breasts
Water
Salt
Pepper
1 large, white onion diced
3 garlic cloves diced
1 red bell pepper diced
2 strips bacon chopped
2 cans navy beans
1 can northern white beans
4 small tomatoes
1 bottle buffalo wing sauce
Chili powder
4 QT pot

Place chicken in the pot and cover with water. Cover and bring water to a boil, cooking chicken through.

Remove Chicken and shred. I like to shred mine in the Kitchen Aid mixer.

Pour out most of the broth, leaving about 3 tablespoons in the pot. Add the garlic and let simmer for about a minute.

Add onions and bacon, stirring until the onions start to soften.

 Add bell pepper and tomatoes.

Add the entire contents of the canned beans--juice and all.

Stir in chicken

Add buffalo wing sauce, chili powder to taste (I used less than a teaspoon), salt and pepper. Let simmer at least an hour so that all of the flavors mix.

Serve with crumbled blue cheese (I also threw in some Yancy's Buffalo Cheddar because I had it).

It's Like a Party in Your Mouth

As a 1LT, my husband is currently acting as a platoon leader for a logistics unit. He's big into team-building stuff, so he had a platoon picnic planned for this afternoon. It was actually supposed to be a few weeks ago while I was out of town; fortunately, something ridiculous came up, so he moved it and I could be there.

One of his soldiers ended up volunteering his house to host. If I had known that would have happened, I would have offered up ours (oh, the cleaning!); I was under the impression that they were going to do it outside at the unit or a community center... something. It actually ended up being a good thing that it wasn't planned for an outside space because it rained and pelted us with gale force winds. There may have even been some sleet in there. Oh, and did I mention it was about 40 degrees?

Anyway...

There were a couple of food stuffs that I wanted to share. I was the cool kid who brought the ever-impressive Costco sheet cake with the ever-witty platoon motto on it (since tone is tough to convey over the interwebz, I'll clue you in: that sentence was ripe with sarcasm). One of the soldiers ended up being grill master extraordinaire (not sarcasm). He was making these short ribs that were rubbed with adobo seasoning and then splashed with Coors Light. Coors Light--who knew something so disgusting could produce something so good? It was phen-o-men-al. And definitely something that I will be attempting to replicate once the temperature exceeds 55 F.

Our host also made the drink that only made the party in my mouth better: Johnny Walker Black Label and Diet Sierra Mist... Yeah. WTF, right?

The hubby is a huge Scotch connoisseur (I'm not going to lie, I groomed him to be. I told him he needed a refined taste in alcohol... It ended up working. We're now planning a honeymoon to Scotland (no, we never had a honeymoon. Don't Judge) just so we can go to all of the distilleries. Bazinga), so I have had my fair share of amazing scotch. I'm not a huge fan of the lesser whiskies (which I consider anything that is mass produced like JW, but it's great to use for a mixed drink... so as not to ruin the good stuff), but this was pretty damn fantastic. So good, I ran right to the commissary to pick up Diet Sierra Mist...

...Which they DO NOT CARRY.

Oh, well. Diet Squirt was almost as good. And since we didn't have any Johnnie Walker, Glenlivet 12 Year wasn't horrible, either. But, first thing tomorrow... cheap whisky and Diet Sierra Mist are becoming staples in my bar. So the party can continue.

And that concludes my disjointed, poorly explained description of how to make a party in your mouth. You're welcome.

Restaurant-Style Ground Beef

I've never been a fan of the over-pungent, preservative-filled, goopy-looking taco-seasoning-packet ground beef. It was always too salty and never tasted anything like any of the Mexcian [American] food (or even TexMex food) that can be had at a Mexican restaurant. And so I set out to recreate the ground beef found at some of my favorite Mexican restaurants. That ground beef was always lightly seasoned and fresh-tasting--a stark contrast to the other stuff. It took a little bit of playing with, but eventually I was able to come up with a recipe that is pretty darn close--if not spot on--to what I can get when I got out to eat.

Since we had tacos for dinner tonight, I thought I would share my ground beef recipe. It's great in tacos, but also pretty fantastic in burritos, quesadillas, nachos... you name it. It takes more time to make than the good-ole browned-beef-and-a-taco-packet variety, and I haven't attempted it in a crock pot, yet (if you have a go at it, let me know how it turns out), so I don't suggest it for a quick dinner night. It needs at least an hour and a half to cook down, so it's best for a night when you have the time. But the following recipe makes enough for the 2.5 of us (Endelyn eats so little of it, she doesn't count as a fully person--not much of a meat fan, that one!) to have it for dinner/lunch twice (and it microwaves very nicely!).

Restaurant-Style Ground Beef

Prep time: Less than 15 minutes
Cook time: 1.5 hours

You will need:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 Large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp oregano
2 Tsp chili powder
1/4 Tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups of water*
Pinch of cilantro
Sauce pan

*You need the water to completely cover the ground beef in the pan. If you have a smaller pan, you will probably need less water... a bigger pan, you'll need more. But I find that somewhere between 2-3 cups of water is about right for a small-to-medium sized sauce pan.

Step 1: Dice onions and Garlic

Step 2: Place ground beef, onions, and garlic in the pan



Step 3: Cover with water

 Step 4: Add spices

Step 5: Mash up the mixture in the water until all of the beef is broken up and the herbs are well-mixed.

Step 6: Cover the pan and turn the burner on to medium heat. Let it cook (bringing it to a boil) for about 25 minutes.

Step 7: After 25 minutes--or so--the beef should be cooked through. Remove the lid from the pot and let the beef continue to cook at medium heat. (I usually use the other half of the onion to make a pico de gallo, so when I am through with that, I throw in a little minced cilantro, as well. This is only optional)

Step 8: Allow the beef to cook until most of the liquid has cooked down or evaporated (at least an hour)

Step 9: Drain off the excess fat and serve.