Obsessed

I love this meal.

Spaghetti with meatballs

Always have...

Please ignore the baby stuff in the background. It's just life these days!

Always will.

Huevos Rancheros

Man I love mexican food.

In a super serious way I love mexican food.

There are some weekends when I really really want Huevos Rancheros for breakfast. The urge struck me recently so I looked up some recipes and went for it.

Fire roasted tomatoes

Chorizo

This added some nice smokey-ness

Completed product

Lee LOVED this. I added the chorizo on the fly and did soft tortillas rather than messing with frying some.

Recipe here at Simply Recipes. 

SO. SO. SO. GOOD.

Weekly Menu

This is an odd week for us Lee is traveling a few days.. But I am making do.

Sunday: we had chipotle-lime marinated chicken with rice and green beans. The chicken was pre marinated at Central Market so I can't take credit for it. It was freaking yum...

Monday: Real Housewives of New Jersey time! Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I actually purchased meatballs at the market (not precooked) so that i don't have to make them. Easy peasy.

Tuesday: Lee is gone so I am eating left over chicken and green beans and maybe making a little Alfredo on the side.

Wednesday: hell, cereal for dinner.

Thursday: We have dinner at a friends house.

Friday: going to my hometown for a few days. I am making baked beans for a family BBQ.

Do you ever have a hectic week like this? What are some short cuts you take?

Cooking FAIL

Well this week was a little off kilter as far as cooking goes.

Saturday we had a BBQ. 

Sunday we had leftovers plus some Homestyle Mac-n-Cheese

Monday: Donald came over for the Real Housewives of New Jersey premiere and I made a brand new recipe: Baked Ziti.

Man this was a fail. Lee didn't like the meatballs. I didn't like the sauce. However, goat boy Donald loved it and took it home.

Tuesday: I redeemed myself when Aunt Kelly came over for dinner and I made PW's Beef and Peppers. Next time I will cook the noodles a little less.. they got a little mushy, but the flavor was great.

Wednesday: I roasted some chicken 1/4's. On my sleep deprived brain, I put the chicken in at 350 instead of 425 so an hour later.. not done. I upped it to the correct temperature and put the oven on Convection Roast and 30 minutes later it was done. Actually - I may be onto something because the chicken was really juicy...

Thursday... we ate out. I had planned baked ziti leftovers but... yeah that didn't work out.

Next week I will try to take photos!!

I hate your recipe

Dear Barefoot Contessa:

1. What IS a Barefoot Contessa anyway?
2. I made your Engagement Roast Chicken a few nights ago and I had a few issues with the recipe.

First, it doesn't call for veggies at all. So when you try and wing it, you are left guessing how it will turn out. Then there is the issue with Roasting the chicken itself. You say:

"Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan"

I roasted it exactly that long, the juices were clear, and what happened when I cut down the breast?

Raw towards the middle.

REALLY?

So what did I do?

I flung put the sonofabitch bird into the microwave!

YEAH I DID!

Then the sauce. You say:

"Place the pan on top of the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the stock and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect under the chicken. Carve the chicken onto a platter and serve with the lemons, onions, and warm sauce."

Ok I did that... but half the onions were removed into my little dish with the potatoes and carrots I had added...

 When it was all said and done, it was very very yummy. Lee wasn't a fan of the super lemony sauce, but Donald loved it.

Any recipes out there piss you off?

Weekly Menu

I am going to try try try to post our menu each week. I hope I don't fail!

This week is a little odd because Lee may or may not be out of town Tuesday night. But we will play it by ear...

Sunday: Sandwiches or leftovers from today's Mother's Day lunch of pork chops and veggies.
Monday: Chicken Spaghetti - I really love Pioneer Woman's version (surprise surprise) - it's not too overly cheesy.
Tuesday: Aunt Kelly comes over for her Logan fix. If Lee is out of town we will have left overs. If not I will make his favorite, Turkey Tacos.
Wednesday: either leftover CS or Turkey Tacos - again - depends on Lee's schdule.
Thursday: Donald night. Honestly? I have no idea.
Friday: Please oh please write Lee a letter and tell him to take momma to Tia Maria's for dinner and margs! Maybe we can get Tiffanie and Tony to go too!

Do you make a weekly menu? Do you stick to it or just order chinese?

Spicy Sausage Pasta

I made this tonight and the vote was beyond happy by the husband.
To put it frankly, he said it was "fucking awesome." and to "make this very often!"

Well ok then!

I discovered this recipe by scrolling through the Pasta Web Roll that Pioneer Woman put up awhile back.

Make this. Please. It's AWESOMENESS.

Thai Curry Chicken

Last night, Lee and I took a second crack at this uber complicated recipe from Beer Advocate magazine.

This time there was a BIG helper in the kitchen!

My mother's day present - a 14 cup Cuisinart Food Processor!

This made slicing onions super super easy...

 I also used my veggie chopper to wrangle the damn squash and that put it unto uniform chunks and it cooked perfectly this time!

Then we made the entire sauce in the processor without any leaks at ALL.

In the end, it wasn't near as complicated of a recipe because of this awesome appliance. And it's YUM.
YUM.
YUM.

If anyone wants the recipe, let me know and I will send it your way!

Donald "cooks"

Thursday night Donald came over for dinner and had a shopping bag in it?
"What's that?" I asked?
"Oh - I am making some cheesecake tarts to take to work. And I need your help."

Super sweet as he is, he brought all the ingredients he needed! Even eggs!
I looked at the recipe and concluded he would need a hand mixer since cream cheese isn't exactly easy to stir with a spoon...
He mastered using it one-handed

Please ignore the dieing plant in the window

Then he showed me how you make the tarts..
After you mix the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, and sugar - you place one vanilla wafer in the cupcake pan, and spoon in the cream cheese filling.

At which point.. were they supposed to be mini?

Then you bake ay 350 for 20 minutes.. however they weren't quite ready... again we think this was meant for mini cupcakes...

So we put them back in until golden on the top.

Then you spoon pie filling on top of each tart and add a dollop of whip cream.

Donald chose blueberry. They were quite tasty!

In the meantime he asked Logan what he thinks about beer...

Oh look, he is just like his Daddy already...

My Butcher Block...

The butcher block in my kitchen isn't just any ole butcher block. It wasn't purchased in a store or made by some guy in another country...

It was hand made from old box-car flooring by my Papa many years ago. He only made 4 and I happen to have one!

It has nicks and scratches from many meals prepared on top of it.

We have added a few things to it to make it functional in our home.

Beer opener - for Lee

 

Towel bar

And it makes a great wine holder while I am cooking

Oh and hides the dog food containers...

 But some other personal touches were added to it long before it landed in my kitchen

My cousin added his name and his favorite word to the leg.

Do you have something special in your kitchen?