Cooking Weekend night #3

I think yesterday's dishes are the winners so far this weekend! I took the Chocolate Crunch No-Bake Cookies to the neighbor's Rose Bowl party and brought a whole bunch of people back to the 70s with that classic recipe. Then I baked up the Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts and it really did taste just like buffalo wings without the sticky fingers! While it isn't the lowest fat or calorie dish on the list, I'll hang on to the recipe and make it again for sure.

Chocolate Crunch No-Bake Cookies
(from a recipe card written in my 12-year old handwriting, circa late 1970s)

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter

Mix together and bring to a boil for 1 minute (don't overboil). Remove from heat

6 heaping tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups quick oatmeal
1/4 cup peanut butter

Mix together. Pour melted butter/sugar mixture over and stir until completely covered. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper and let harden.

Variations include anything you like, really. Nuts or raisins or cranberries. The classic 70s version includes chow mein noodles. I'll be making a batch of those today.

Blue Cheese-Stuffed Chicken with Buffalo Sauce
(from Cooking Light magazine)
Note: I realized after I took the photo that although I thought to add rice as a side, my dinner was sadly lacking in vegetables. So I added some green beans. Pretend there's some kind of vegetable on the plate too...

Filling
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tbsp reduced-fat sour cream
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Chicken
4 (6-oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp 2% reduced-fat milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko
1-1/2 tbsp butter, divided

Sauce
6 tbsp finely chopped drained bottled roasted red peppers
2 tsp water
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
1/2 tsp hot sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff cheese mixture evenly into pockets.
3. Place flour in a shallow dish. Combine milk and egg in a shallow dish, stirring well with a whisk. Place panko in a shallow dish. Working with 1 chicken breast half at a time, dredge chicken in flour, then dip in egg mixture; dredge in panko. Repeat with remaining chicken breast halves.
4. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan; swirl until butter melts. Arrange chicken in pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; place skillet in oven. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until done.
5. While chicken bakes, combine remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons butter, bell peppers, water, Worcestershire sauce and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer; cook until butter melts. Remove from heat and stir in hot sauce. Serve sauce with chicken.

One good note from the magazine is not to turn the chicken over too soon or it will stick. I waited and it didn't stick at all. Also, I would follow the 'finely chopped' directions for the bell peppers. I got lazy and didn't process enough and I think it would have turned out better if it was a smoother sauce.

Now on to the thumbprint cookies and roasted veggies. Christmas decorations are almost all down and the Christmas New Year's cards are finally out. Riley scored an indoor play group session at the dog training place down the street so I'd better get cracking on the rest of my chores!

Cooking Weekend night #2

With the chili all packed up and in the freezer, I was on to Stuffed Shells. I've made this recipe a few times and it's always tasty. This time I skimped on the feta because the packages came in 3/4c and giant sizes and I thought I could get away with a little less. Not as tasty without the right amount of feta, I will know next time!

The picture isn't great but it still tasted good! Now I've got more containers in the freezer for lunch! This recipe came from Cooking Light a few years ago. Serving size is 4 shells but I've always thought 3 was plenty. And at 2 WW points (not plus, just points) per shell that's not too bad!

Artichoke, Spinach and Feta Stuffed Shells

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini peppers

1 28-oz can fire roasted crushed tomatoes with added puree

1 8-oz can no-salt-added tomato sauce

1 cup (4 oz) shredded provolone cheese, divided

1 cup (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup (4 oz) fat free cream cheese, softened

1/ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 9-oz package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped

1 5-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry

2 garlic cloves, minced

20 cooked jumbo shell pasta

Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat; cook 12 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; set aside.

3. Combine 1/2 cup provolone and the next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium bowl. Spoon or pipe about 1/5 tbsp cheese mixture into each pasta shell; place stuffed shells in a 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon tomato mixture over shells; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup provolone. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese melts.

I have tried the bag/piping method each time I've made this recipe and always ended up with a spoon. The spinach gets too clumpy and it gets stuck. Then if you make the opening too big it shoots out too much. The spoon method seems to work just fine though.

Yea, stuffed shells! Tomorrow on to the chicken...

Cooking Weekend night #1

I've been looking forward to having four days in a row at home for a very long time! Wednesday afternoon after leaving work I went to the grocery store and stocked up on all the ingredients to make a few things. I pored over my homemade cookbook of all the scraps of recipes I've always wanted to make and came up with this list:

Turkey Chili
Artichoke, Spinach and Feta Stuffed Shells
Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Buffalo Sauce
Roasted Root Vegetables
Cinnamon Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
Chocolate Crunch No-Bake Cookies

Yesterday I tackled the chili. It's a recipe I've used many times (and it won first runner up in the chili cook-off last year). I now have a few containers in the freezer for lunch and even included corn bread muffins! I didn't take a picture but here's the original recipe...

Turkey Chili
Serves 6

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
2 green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
1/5 lb ground turkey breast
2 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp powdered cocoa
1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/4 cup tarragon vinegar
2 Tbsp strong brewed coffee
2 14-oz cans plum tomatoes, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups cooked black beans

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or deep skillet. Add the onion, garlic, red and green pepper; saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the ground turkey and saute for 5 minutes, stirring constantly and breaking up any lumps with the spoon.

2. Stir in the flour, chili powder, cumin and cocoa. Stir over low heat, stirring frequently for 3 minutes to cook the spices. Add the remaining ingredients except the black beans and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 40 to 45 minutes, until thick and the turkey is tender. Add the black beans and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

That's the recipe as written. I haven't been able to find that exact description of tomatoes so I just use the petite diced can of regular tomatoes. Maybe they are plum and they just don't say? I also add an additional red or yellow pepper as well as a jalapeno or two. And most importantly my chili is beanless. No beans for me! There are definitely two sides to the beans in chili debate and I am most definitely squarely on the no beans side. To each their own. I also will add beef that's been cooked to shreds, which helps give the flavor a bit more body. The last secret ingredient is 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter. Smooths it out just enough.

Tonight I'm making the shells and maybe some cookies. Or maybe I'll hang out on the couch and watch the ball drop in Times Square. Either way it's a pretty low key New Year's Eve around these parts.

Happy New Year to you!

Baby's room thoughts

Update June 2011, the room is done! See how it turned out...

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I'm realizing more and more how much I would like to do to prepare my house for a child. Is it fine if I just paint and decorate the baby's room? Probably. But, I'd really like to have a better place for toys and crafts and storage. Plus there is a whole room of furniture in the room right now. So I've decided to use the money I had set aside to landscape the front of the house to finish the basement instead. That will add much needed storage and a great place to house toys that won't have to be put away so you can walk from the living room to the bedroom. Hopefully those front stairs will last until I have enough money to finish up outside!

Since I need some help from a contractor and Home Depot for the basement, I've turned my daydreaming to decorating the nursery. It's so hard to imagine what she will like. Is she a pink and ruffles kid? An undersea adventurer? Enchanted garden? So much to choose from! Also, since she will be almost two years old when she comes home, will she still need a crib or are we already on to the toddler bed? I'd hate to spend money on a crib that only gets used for a month or so but don't want to have the wrong bed when she gets here. Anyone have advice on that?

I know I'll be doing some kind of painting on the walls. I did my first mural at my good friend Molly's house for her twins Jack and Chase. (top banner had their birthdate, which at the time hadn't happened yet)

Pretty sure I don't want to go with the airplane theme but I found a few pictures that might be close to what I'm thinking.

I love the idea of polka dots...

Or maybe it's a garden theme...

I would love love love to be able to afford this and also have room for it. How fun is that!?

Still so much to do before the painting starts but it sure is fun to get ideas...

It's a girl!

It has happened! I have a referral for a beautiful baby girl! And since I have officially told everyone who would be upset if they read it here first (and apologies to anyone I forgot) I can announce that I'm on to the next phase of waiting.

I received a call late on a Friday afternoon, snow furiously falling outside and me packing up to leave work. My office is very quiet and I didn't want my coworkers to be the first to know so I ran to the conference room to talk and then ran back to my computer to look at the photos and then back and forth. sheesh. My daughter, and yet not my daughter yet. Joy, excitement, panic, anxiety, it's all there. She's so beautiful! When I saw that her recorded birthdate matches my mother's birthday I knew it was her. She's already 14 months old, I can't wait to meet her!

So now it's back to waiting. Waiting to hear when the first court date will be (March, April-ish?) and then again when the embassy date will be (July-August-ish?). Still so far away. In the meantime, I'm trying to be positive in the face of the "helpful" opinions and advice. It's kind of like when you're ready to jump out of the airplane and everyone wants to help you through it.

You know how dangerous this is?
You know the parachute might not open?
You know the plane might crash?
You know that you might just pull the wrong cord and the parachute will come off?

You know kids are expensive? and need a lot of love? and need constant attention? and you won't know what to do? and you won't get any sleep for the rest of your life? and...and...and... You need to do this and this and this or you won't be ready.

Yes. I know these things. I know that I won't be fully prepared. As is any new mother, whether she carries her baby in her womb or in a picture in her wallet. And while I know that everyone means well, I don't need the doom and gloom of how hard it's going to be. I'm thinking enough of that in my head. And I will be as ready as I possibly can be, with or without the "help". So forgive me if I don't write down everything I'm told. I have to filter or the anxiety might just break me.

Countdown begins. So many firsts to come in the new year. Yippee for early Christmas presents!

Snowmageddon?

Quite possibly I'm the last blogger from Minnesota to post about the monster snowstorm. Maybe there are others that have yet to dig out from the giant snow drifts. In any case it is definitely worth mentioning. Holy crap it was a lot of snow!

I feel slightly bad that I missed most of it. Friday night, before it started, I headed to St Cloud for the USAG Level 5 and 6 State Meet. I volunteered to drive a few judges up and we were all told that we had to stay up there on Friday night. Report time was 7:30am and it was clear earlier in the week that if you didn't go up early, you'd be stuck. From the sounds of it, only a few kids out of a few hundred competing didn't make the trip. Amazing. Weather wasn't too bad up there but the reports from home sounded like the end of the world! Then we saw the video of the Metrodome collapsing and we all wondered what we would return home to. Well here's the first thing we encountered...

My carpool buddies picked the wrong place to stash their cars! Who knew? There are actually two cars there, one parked in front of the one you can see. Obviously, we found them alternate transportation home.

Then I got home and saw my fabulous cousin and neighbors had taken care of the snowblowing and shoveling. Thank you thank you thank you! All that was left was to make a path for Riley to go outside.
What it looked like when I got home late Sunday night...

 A small path shoveled...

Riley doesn't venture too far now!

 Final tally about 19". Whew.

I feel very fortunate to live on a street that gets plowed early. We can generally shovel the driveway and the snowplow drift at the same time. With this snow, they plow more than once. This morning was another three foot drift of hard packed snow at the end of the driveway. I would have taken a picture but I was trying to get out for an early meeting. Turns out, the traffic is still insane! Last night's 7 mile commute home took over an hour (I chose routes poorly). This morning's 9 mile drive took 40 minutes. At least it's getting better. (didn't make the meeting though, oh well!)

Tomorrow is the annual shopping excursion to the Mall of America for me and my mom. This year cousin Lexi will join us. I hope she's up for it! :-) We always have a good time and I treasure having the time to spend with my mom. Oh and we get to shop too! Next round of snow doesn't start until tomorrow night. Only another 2-3 inches predicted. Not sure where we'll put any more snow!

Looking forward to springtime already...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm sorely tempted to Scrooge this Thanksgiving day. How easy would it be to wallow in the things in my life that haven't happened the way I wanted. boo hoo for me, blah blah. Well that's just not how I roll. (that phrase just can't get used enough, right?)

Instead, I choose to be thankful for everything else. I have my health (I could actually stop here, that's how thankful I am for that). I have a wonderful, mostly not disfunctional, loving and supportive family. I have a great circle of friends, a job I like with co-workers who rock and a warm and welcoming home. And of course there's Riley, who loves me no matter how Scroogy I get.

And for you, the small handful of people who may be out there reading this or even those who stumbled here accidently, Happy Thanksgiving to you too! I hope you get to see all that's out there to be thankful for too.

Safe travels and don't forget to hug your loved ones today!