Empanadas

Make these.  Make these now.  I was skeptical about them, but Todd had wanted some Empanadas from this place down the street.  So I thought I was use the recipe in the Hungry Men book and it was a hit.  We made them Saturday night before I had to babysit and Todd had to cater.  They were perfect for some on the go dinner.  I made the pastry dough and the filling so here is the recipe for both!

Dough
Ingredients:
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp.
4 oz of cream cheese at room temp
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions:
1. Process butter, cream cheese and cream with a mixer.
2. Add the flour and salt and make it into a ball.
3. Divide into 2 pieces and flatten between plastic wrap to chill for 30 minutes.
4. Roll it out and use a bowl 5 inches across to cut circles.  It should make around 10 circles for empanadas.

Filling
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, choppped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon cumin
3/4 cup of pimiento-filled green olives, sliced
3/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Several dashes of hot sauce
2 large eggs, separated
Pastry rounds

Directions:
1. Cook your onions and peppers in your olive oil over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes.  Raise the heat to high and add your beef.  Cook until browned.
2. Add cumin and cook 1 more minute.
3. Stir in the olives, raisins, honey, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.  Cook until the meat is golden brown, the liquid has evaporated, about 4 more minutes.
4.  Cool the mixture completely and then stir in egg whites.
5. Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet.
6. Place about 1/4 cup of the filling on one side of the dough circle.  Wet the edges and fold over.  Crimp with a fork and repeat until filling or dough is gone.
*If you want, freeze the empanadas at this point and you can make them in the future.
7. Place the empanadas in the fridge to chill for a few minutes.  Poke twice with a fork and then brush with the egg yolk.
8.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.  Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
*If you want to make appetizers, just use a 3 inch bowl for the circles and 2 teaspoons of the filling.

I would make these everyday if I had the time.  We each at 4 of them in about 15 minutes.

This has been the winner from this cookbook so far.  The dough was flaky and had that cream cheese kick to it.  The filling was delicious and spicy.  We did leave out the olives and raisins, but I made add the raisins next time.  (Don't even come knocking on my door, olives.  You are not welcome in this household.)  Like I said, we loved it and it was perfect for on the go dinner.  I may make some to freeze so we can have an easy dinner some night.  

Still to come, another chicken recipe from Hungry Men, and Chicken Satay from our Alton Brown cookbook.

Fried Chicken

Oh man, this did not turn out well.  Well, I didn't think it was that good, but Todd seemed to think it was okay.  Let's start from the beginning.

Ingredients
1 quart of buttermilk or milk
2 Tablespoons Tabasco
1 3-4 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces (or 2 chicken breasts cut in half like we did.  Advice, pick a cut with a bone in it.)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups peanut oil, vegetable oil, bacon fat, or lard.

Directions
1. In a 9x13 pan, combine milk and hot sauce.
2. Soak your chicken at lease 10 minutes.  We did it overnight.
3. In a plastic bag, combine flour, salt, and peppers.
4. Shake chicken in flour in shifts and shake off excess flour.
5. In a cast iron skillet (or dutch oven since that is all we have), heat 2 inches of oil.
    -Test oil by tossing in a popcorn kernel.  When it pops, it's hot enough.
6. Turn the heat down to medium and fry chicken, leaving 1/2 inch between pieces.  Fry in shifts if you have to.  Leave it undisturbed for 15 minutes, lowering the heat to prevent excessive browning.  Turn the pieces and cook another 15-20 minutes.
7. Remove from oil and drain on rack.  Place in 200 degree oven to keep warm.

Looks okay with the potatoes and green beans, but...meh.

We used 2 chicken breasts cut in half.  Don't do this.  Buy chicken breasts with bones in or other cuts.  Also, this is not spicy, despite the presence of Tabasco and Cayenne pepper. Add more of either if you want it to be spicy.  Lastly, I forgot to turn the oil down for the first side of my first 2 pieces.  They were what she describe as "excessively brown" and tasted like charcoal.  But my second two pieces turned out better.

Overall, it was a let down for my first frying experience and my apartment smelled like butt.  However, maybe my new knowledge will be put to use for a special Christmas morning donut or something.  And maybe, once I recover from the burnt taste, I will try this again.

We're Back!

For real this time, because I have challenged myself with something new.  You want to hear?  Of course, because I'm semi interesting and chances are if you finally got around to checking my blog, you are really bored. So I will assume you have nothing better to do.

So, when Todd and I arrived home from our vacation to Colorado (which was amazing.  Why do I live in such a crappy place?) I had a new motivation to start cooking again.  Larry at Living Hope Covenant mentioned that my now very old food photo album on Facebook was wonderful and he enjoyed seeing how well we learned to cook.  So naturally, I needed to find a new challenge since we have become complacent with our 10 favorite dinner recipes.

The new challenge:

To use one cook book a week to make dinner every night.  The dinners must be as follows.

2 chicken nights

1 beef night

1 soup night

1 pasta or salad night

Saturday is pizza and Sunday is leftovers.

Also a plus, if all the food is around $40/week.

We kicked the challenge off with Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn.  This book is all about how Quinn taught her boys to cook and what she cooked them.  Monday's meal was her Pantry Bistro Salad.  Starting easy; it's hard to screw up salads.  

Ingredients

1 head of Romain lettuce

5 strips of bacon

1/2 white onion

2 poached eggs

Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar

Directions

1. Cut your bacon into small bits as to fry them faster.

2. Saute your diced onion and bits of bacon in a small lug of olive oil until caramelized and crispy.  Place on paper towel to drain.

3. Cut and wash your lettuce.  Place on paper towels to dry.

4. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and attempt to poach 2 eggs.  I failed massively, so I ended up frying them over easy and over hard.

5. Salad...Assemble!  Lettuce, bacon and onions, egg, and drizzle with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

I made this because I thought Todd would like it, as I am not a huge egg fan.  But I must say, we both devoured this.  Partially because we were eating dinner at 8:30, and it was delicious.  The only changes we made were fried instead of poached eggs, and a yellow onion (because that's what I started cutting up and I wasn't going to waste half and onion!)

My failed poached egg.  I know when I'm bested.

The final product.  Add salt and pepper and some bread.

Tuesday's Dinner:  Fried Chicken

Trips to Exotic Cheese

So no, the cheese I am about to talk about is in no way exotic.  However, this was my first experience with it, so  I will say it is exotic to me.  The exotic cheese is...Pepper Jack!  This may be the cheese that bridges food differences in my marriage.  I have used it twice this week, on both Mac and Cheese and Pizza.

First, the Mac and Cheese.  So you make this by making noodles and a cheese sauce, combining the two, and baking it with bread crumbs or more cheese on top.  And if you are my Grandma Joye, you put potato chips on top.  What a genius!  Anyway, you can see the original recipe here.  This week, I just substituted half the sharp cheddar cheese for Pepper Jack.  It gave this sauce a much needed kick.  We didn't bake it or add anything on top.  We just mixed and ate for dinner once and then again for lunch one day.  With our lack of income, repeat, fatty meals are a frequent happening.  (Though the stress of no job has made me stop eating and therefore loose about 10lbs since being here!  I guess some good does come from unemployment.)

Well, today Todd and I went grocery shopping.  I love grocery shopping here.  We walk the mile down to Andy's Fruit Ranch, load up on cheap, delicious produce, and walk it all home.  We have been spending, pretty consistently, about $30/week on food.  Not bad!  Back to the point.  We go grocery shopping and need pepperoni for pizza tonight.  Problem!  Andy's does not have many brand name anything and is missing some stuff that people would not consider staples of your menu.  Hence, no pepperoni.  Since I did not want to drive all the way down to Jewel once we got home, I decided to put the remaining Pepper Jack on the all cheese pizza.  Best decision I have made all week.  It had a little kick like pepperoni, but without all the grease and questioning of what you are eating!  So when you need a kick for your pizza, go with the Jack.

Otherwise, not much else is happening.  We are loving being in Chicago.  We are making friends and hanging out with Greg and Stef a lot.  Todd is loving class and doing well.  We have a wall covered in Greek flash cards and a white board.  Could life be any better?

I don't know who the bigger nerd is, the one studying Greek, or the one that finds the previous one quite the stud?

Cheese Sauce

So while at our farewell lunch for work at Grizzly's (pretty yummy I may add), the Food Network was on.  Not having cable, I was drawn into Rachel Ray's raspy vortex and was not let go since she was making some sort of Mac and Cheese.  Her's was with a cheese sauce, pancetta, bread crumbs, and lots of fresh grated cheese.  Keep in mind, I know all this from watching and only that since I could not hear the television.  So if that's not what it was, it was some variation of things that look like those.  Anyway, seeing this, I wanted to go home and make it myself with less of the pancetta and bread crumbs and more of the sauce, noodles, and baking it under the broiler for a few minutes.  I haven't done this yet, but I made a cheese sauce from un-fancy (in-fancy?) things in my kitchen.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheese, such as cheddar or swiss
• Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour, being sure to combine it with the butter very well, to make a roux. Let cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Do not let it darken. Gradually add the milk, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking or stirring vigorously to incorporate. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until thickened and just starting to boil, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired.

Recipe taken from www.terriskitchen.com.  It's what I made, just explained better.  Sadly, no photo.  I poured it over my noodles and then ate it too quickly.  Sorry!

Well, it's off to make dinner.  I just woke up from a three hour power nap.  I say power nap since those are to replenish just a little bit of sleep you didn't get the night before.  I was at a junior high ADD haven since Thursday and returned today.  Yes, three hours qualifies as "power nap".  I will leave you with a photo of the chaos since there is none for the cheese sauce.

Gotta love youth ministry!

Basil Stir-Fry

It's so yummy and from my new, FREE cookbook.  It a Martha Stewart Everyday Food cookbook, so as Todd said "Take everything with a giant spoonful of salt."

Ingredients
1 Large Chicken Breast
1 T cornstarch
vegetable oil
1 small onion
2 Bell Peppers
6 Garlic Cloves
Thai Basil leaves
Rice Wine Vinegar
Soy Sauce
Cooked rice

Directions
-Pat dry the chicken and cut into strips.  Coat in cornstarch seasoned with salt and pepper.  Pour oil into a frying pan and heat it up.
-Let chicken brown on both sides and cook until almost done.  Take out of pan.
-Wipe pan clean and heat oil in pan.
-Toss in cut onion and peppers.  Let cook for 5 min.  Then throw in crushed garlic and cook another minute.
-Add chicken and add vinegar and soy sauce to taste.  Add some water if it's too salty for your taste.   Let simmer with cooked rice and basil leaves.  Serve it up!

See, yum!

Todd made this one by himself which was so nice.  We need to use up food since we are moving so this was a good way to get rid of spices and sauces.  We'll have to do a lot of improve cooking over the next few days.

For mom and Corrie, here is a better photo of Stef's dress.  It was mermaid with a nice sparkly ribbon around the center and train.  Add the pearls and sparkly veil and she looked quite bridal.

They were walking back down the aisle and she forgot to take her flowers with her.  I still had them and her mom gave me a mean look!  Like somehow it was my fault.  Hello, if we don't practice it in rehearsal, how is she supposed to know.  Ah well, I was so pumped my friends got married, I didn't even care.  But now looking back on it, it hurts.  She looked at me and motioned for me to give her the flowers, despite the fact she and Greg were half way down the aisle.  What would ruin the moment more, no flowers or crazy bridesmaid?  

That's what I thought.  Crazy bridesmaid will always distract.  Think before giving me a dirty look.

Beef Kabobs

It's time for more food!  I was in New London, Wisconsin this last week with Teenserve.  It's a mission trip organization that sets you up with a team of people you don't know and sends you out to someones house everyday from 8-3 to do whatever work they need done.  I had a great group of 5 others and we painted a house for a single mom.  They were so sweet and we had a great time.  On Thursday, we had another group join us so we would have a better chance at finishing this huge project.  Sadly, we didn't.  But, we were close to finishing and they were very thankful.  I had a very fun week with my crew and with the 9 kids we brought from Mankato.  That said, I am quite happy I am back home.

My pretty sweet crew!

This recipe is one we made awhile ago, before I left.  We were on a Mediterranean kick, and a meat and veggies kick apparently, so we tried these.  I think you can figure out how to make kabobs yourself, but the marinade for the beef is something to focus on.  Again, it comes from the wonderful Alton Brown.  We really do love him at the Spieker house.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless beef sirloin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Special equipment: 4 (12-inch) metal skewers

Directions

Cut the beef into 1 1/2 to 1 3/4-inch cubes and place into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor combine the garlic, paprika, turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar. With the processor running drizzle in the olive oil.

Pour the marinade over the meat and toss to coat. Place in the refrigerator in an airtight container or a sealable plastic bag and allow to marinate for 2 to 4 hours.

Once you have your marinaded beef, add your cut up onions and peppers, pop them on the skewers, and grill them up.  We did it on the griddle.  You may want to try wrapping them in tin foil and then putting them on a fire grill, or let them get those pretty grill marks on them.  Any way is good.

Well, enjoy your summer grilling.  I was hoping our apartment next year would have a little back staircase so we could have a little charcoal grill.  No such luck.  We'll have to wait until we have a house, or just a nicer apartment.  But don't let that keep you from visiting us next year.  We'll still make you good food!

Maszjudatha

It's pronounced "ma-jUD-thah-dah" and it's delicious.  This is a dish Todd and I had at Brad Nassif's house, our senior seminar professor for Biblical Studies.  He is a smart man that loves his Lebanese heritage.  So, I assume this recipe is Lebanese or at the very least, middle eastern.  Nassif made this for us when he invited all the senior seminar students to his house toward the end of the semester.  Earlier this year, I emailed him asking for the recipe and have now gotten around to making it.

Ingredients:
1-2 yellow onions
1/2 bag of lentils
cracked wheat

Directions:
Nassif explained it best, so I'll let his words do the directing.

Take a half bag of lentils and bring to a boil and the lentils are soft to your taste.
When the lentils are about 5 minutes from being fully cooked, add one half cup (or a full cup, as you wish) of cracked wheat (burghl) to the boiling water.  Use "fine" or "medium" cracted wheat. (By the way, you may want to first rinse the wheat with cold water in a cup before adding it)
As the lentils are cooking, cut up one or two onions (however many you like) and glaze them in Virgin Olive oil in a pan.  Use just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Don't overdo the oil.  Cook the onions until they are golden brown or even slightly blackened.
When the lentils are fully cooked with the wheat, shut off the fire and add the onions.
Salt to taste.
Enjoy!

It was so tasty!  We made it with some pan cooked chicken for dinner, but it's great for lunch all by itself.  And I know what you are thinking mom, "Erin and Lentils?  What?!"  We should all know by know that I am much more willing to try new foods.  Although, this meal was especially brown, so a bit like old white food Erin.  Anyway, it was good!  You should try it sometime.  Now, I am off to make fruit dip for our small group.

Chili in a Bread Bowl

Fellow RWHS graduates, tell me this was not your favorite meal the wonderful lunch ladies made.  My wonderful mom made me a lunch everyday, so I never ate it.  But, I remember begging Erin Ulrich for the top of her bowl if she didn't eat it.  Those bread bowls were to die for and the chili (although it's not my favorite) was so good according to those around me.  People waited patiently for Tuesday lunch to roll around so they could indulge in such a delicious lunch.

I attempted to make this lunch for dinner last night.  I wanted to use my new dutch oven while Jon and Faye were here, and show that I can take care of their son by giving him good food every night if I wanted to.  I do want to, I'm just lazy.  So I made the bread bowls, and found a 30 minute chili recipe online.  Bread bowls turned out great.  Chili was a let down, so I won't be making this exact recipe again.

Ingredients
1 yellow onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 lb. ground beef
1 can kidney beans, drained
chicken stock
salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon

Directions
1. Heat some oil in your pot.  I used the dutch oven, but it could be a normal pot.
2. Dice the onions and mince the garlic.  (Check out my new. fancy cutting terms)
3. Saute your garlic and onions for 3-5 minutes, until tender.  Throw in some salt and pepper.
4. Add your ground beef and break apart with a fork or something.  Work around until browned.
5. Add the kidney beans and chicken stock.  Add enough stock until it's the amount of liquid you want.
6. Add some more salt and pepper, to taste.  Then, add a tiny dash of cinnamon.  Taste it and add cumin until it's the taste you want.
7. Scoop it into the bread bowl and sprinkle a tiny bit of cheese on top.

It was okay, but not great.  I liked Todd's vegetarian chili more.  I think I might do that one next time, which has peppers in it and you mash the beans a little to make it thicken up, but add some meat to it.  We're not hippies.  Jon and Faye liked it (or were polite and said they did), so it will have to do.

In other news, we are for sure moving to Chicago next year for Todd to finish Seminary.  It was always likely, but we found out last week he was awarded the Kern Scholarship, which pays his tuition for the next 3 years.  With that scholarship, and not having to worry about taking out loans, it's a definite yes to us moving there.  Our friend Greg also got the Kern, so they will take all their classes together and go on the retreats together.  That means girls' weekend for Stef and me! We also heard back from the housing people this week, saying they should have us placed in an apartment around June 1st.  We can then move in anytime during August.  So, praise God for providing and thank you for your prayers about all this.  Next, we need to find me a job and then we are good to go.  I just need to figure out what I want to do.  Someone told me culinary school.  I told them that doesn't make money, it makes me pay money.  Plus, no.

Anyway, enjoy your RWHS cafeteria meal.  It's super yummy. Also, I talk about Greg and Stef a lot so here is a photo, so you can have a visual.  She looks like Anne Hathaway and is way to good looking for Greg.  But, Greg may be the nicest guy in the world, so it balances out.  (Read into that what you will.)  Here they are at her brother's wedding last fall.

Sliders

Well, dinner was another small adventure last night. We had an extra 1/2 lb. of ground beef which did not turn into meatloaf or meatballs like we had anticipated. Instead, Todd turned it into sliders. We had some extra rolls left over from a few weeks ago, lettuce and cheese from last night, and potatoes to make some fries. The fries we kind of a flop, again, but the burgers were great. There were Sam burgers, Juicy Lucy, Mediterranean, and Asian. There is a basic mixture for all of them, and then they are individualized from there. A half pound of beef makes about 8-10 sliders.

Basic mixture:
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 egg
7 crackers

All of the mix-ins from here are to taste.

Sam Burgers:
Lawry's Salt
Worcestershire Sauce
Form into patties
Cook and top with lettuce and horseradish sauce
*These are an original Sam recipe which is super good. But top with some Horsey Sauce, and it takes them to could eat every week wonderful*

Juicy Lucy:
Crack in some pepper
Make a large, thin patty on your hand
Place a wad of cheese (we used provolone) in the middle of the patty
Roll the meat around the cheese into a burger patty
Cook

Mediterranean:
Mix in some balsamic vinegar and fennel seeds
Form into patties
Cook and top with lettuce and hummus

Asian:
Mix in Soy Sauce and Red Chilies
Form into patties
Cook and top with lettuce and hot mustard




These were so good! I have a hard time picking a favorite out of the group. We were one roll short, so one of the Asian burgers was made into a lettuce wrap and it was amazing. I would suggest trying that with all of them.

I'm in the process of making pizza for dinner tonight and noticed something unusual. We have 4 different kinds of flour at our house right now. That's right, 4: All-purpose, whole wheat, cake, and bread. We should start a bakery. Most of the whole wheat will get used up as Todd and I try to work whole wheat pita pockets into our daily menu. We still need to make some hummus to go with them.

Also, I will post the baked fries recipe soon. I think the recipe is good, I just didn't allow for enough time. We'll have to try those again soon.

Pita Pockets

I was, very admittedly, a picky eater for the better part of my life. It wasn't until I moved to Chicago that I started liking a lot of veggies and anything that wasn't mostly white. Don't get me wrong, some days I could still go for a buttered noodles and milk, but those are very rare cravings.

BTW, it is storming outside right now, so Todd and I have opened the windows, turned out all the lights, and are playing Halo, blogging, and listening to the rain. Thanks Dad for bringing me out on the porch when I was little so I would not be scared of thunderstorms.

Back to the picky eating. Todd and I decided to leave tonight's dinner option open to whatever new recipe we want to try. I had this idea a while ago to find a new recipe out of any book while at Barns and Noble. It's the cheap way to get new recipes and kill an hour reading books in the store instead of staring at a computer screen. Anyway, we left tonight open and decided I would pick something new to make. Since our Seder Meal, we have been meaning to try something a little Mediterranean, so we picked Pita Pockets! Yes, the pockets are white food, but the rest was not reminiscent of the picky eater I once was. It's homemade pita pockets, a cooked chicken breast, and (you gasp while I hang my head in shame) store bought bell pepper hummus. We have not yet learned how to make our own; all reviews say once you make your own, you will never buy it again. Also, store bought strawberries. Come on, I'm not some strawberry farmer, though that would be cool (and delicious).

Pita Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Add 1 cup of the flour, along with the yeast, and stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add additional flour if necessary during kneading.)
2. Put your dough into a bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise, until almost double (about an hour). I like to turn my oven on for a minute or two, then turn it off, and let the dough rise in there, since our house is cool.
3. Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle.
4. As you roll the rounds, set them aside on a lightly floured countertop or table, and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for about 25-35 minutes, until slightly puffy. (The rounds will still be thin though! :D)
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place 2 rounds, side-by-side, onto a wire rack, such as is used for cooling things. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 4-5 minutes, until puffy and just slightly browned. (If bread is too browned, it will be dry and not pliable.)
6. Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap/layer pita breads in a damp towel, to soften. Continue baking the remaining breads, layering them between damp towels as soon as they're baked. Allow breads to completely cool.
7. Cut pita breads in half, or split the top edge, and fill as desired.

For the insides, we chose red pepper hummus, romain lettuce, raw white onion, provolone cheese, and chicken, cooked and shredded.
Wash the lettuce and tear it into bigger pieces.
Cut the onion.
Break the cheese into bit sized pieces.
Cook the chicken however you want. We seasoned with garlic and onion seasoning and cooked on the stove.
Shred the chicken once it is done.

To build your pita pocket:
Spread hummus on the inside.
Press lettuce into hummus.
Layer chicken, onion, cheese until your pocket is full.




We had some strawberries with dinner that Todd so wonderfully picked up on a whim and we had a great new experience with easy and mild Mediterranean food. Make the pita bread and fill them up with whatever you like. Enjoy!

Mac and Cheese with Parmesan Chicken

I had my first food fail last night. It's not my first ever fail, but my first in a while. It was crock pot mac and cheese and it was so unappetizing. It smelled so gross when I walked into the apartment and when I lifted the lid, I saw a burnt circle of gelatinous elbow macaroni and cheese. When I threw it away today (yes, I was lazy enough to let it sit in there overnight), I gagged at the smell and texture. The worst part, I spent time to find the recipe and then make it all that morning before work. To come home close to dinner time, knowing you still have to make the protein part of the meal, it's very disheartening to then have to make a new dinner before youth group starts. Plus, I really craved mac and cheese! I wanted to have it. So I found this super simple recipe online. I felt like a stinking idiot for not knowing the basics to make something so simple. So here is the macaroni and cheese and Jamie Oliver's Parmesan Chicken. He may be a bit of a pretentious jerk and doesn't understand how a system works, but he makes good, easy, and cheap food.

Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
Elbow macaroni
cheddar cheese
milk
butter

Directions:
Cook the macaroni like the package says. It's easy.
Drain the pasta and mix in some butter (how ever much you like) and a handful of cheese.
The cheese will be stringy , so mix in a little milk to make it a bit more saucy.

Parmesan Chicken
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
2 springs of parsley
Club crackers
2 Tablespoons of butter
1 clove of garlic
flour
1 beaten egg

Directions:
Put the crackers, parsley, butter, and garlic in a food processor. Keep adding crackers until it looks like a breading and not a ball of butter with stuff on it.
Put a handful of flour on a plate, the beaten egg in a bowl, and the breading on another plate.
Pound your chicken thin.
Dredge the chicken in the flour, dip it in the egg, and cover it in the breading.
Heat up olive oil in a pan.
When the pan is hot, put your chicken in. Cook until done, about 5-6 minutes per side.
When done, slice up and serve.




It was a good dinner. Took about an hour overall because my chicken was still a little thick. Otherwise it was good. We were in a rush to get back to church, so the photo is my dinner half eaten. It was good and easy. The only problem I ran into was keeping the breading on the chicken. I don't know how to fix that.
Next up, bread bowls. Erin Ulrich is coming down tomorrow so we'll be having a girly dinner of baked potato soup in a bread bowl. The soup is already on my blog and I'm excited for it. It's nice to have friends.

Quick Chicken Curry

Big thanks go out to Lisa, our ministry support/visual arts person, at church and Todd's nose for this recipe. This may be the best curry Todd and I have made (we only tried one other, and it was good, but not great or this easy.)

So Todd is at church and smells what Lisa has just microwaved for lunch. He goes in to her office to ask what it is. She then tells him "chicken curry" and she'll send him the recipe. I don't know where she found it, but we love it. And we're happy she told us to just make it with rice instead of couscous. I have been adventurous with my food choices since college (I had artichoke hummus today), but couscous may be a bit too far off my radar right now. Anyway, we make it with rice, but I'll include the couscous in case you want to try it. It makes 4-6 servings. We make it for the 2 of us with the same amounts for the veggies and meat, but then make 1 cup of brown rice to serve it on. Wed also leave out the raisins. I don't do cooked raisins unless they are surrounded by bread and cinnamon.

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup couscous
2 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion,diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 cup golden raisins
1 T curry powder
1 chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 cup coconut milk
salt and pepper

Couscous:
In small saucepan, bring water to a boil.
Turn off heat.
Add couscous and stir once. Cover.
Let sit while preparing the rest of the recipe.

Rest of recipe:
Sauté the veggies and chicken in separate pans in the hot oil on medium high heat.
Add curry powder to veggies. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes.
Add chicken and coconut milk.
Bring to a simmer, stirring often.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add cooked rice to pan to let it soak up some of the sauce.
Serve it up in bowls.




The photo does not do it justice. This curry is so good. I wish we had leftovers to reheat, but we never do. And, Todd makes this one by himself. I have nothing to do with it. I really love having a husband that knows how to cook. We would eat like crap four nights out of the week if I had to cook all the time.

Also, I will be on my own for dinner on Thursday and Friday night. If you have a one person recipe that you would like me to try, let me know. And for the FRIENDS watchers out there, I may have to make Rachel's famous baked potato and diet coke if I can't find the motivation or recipe to make. So send them in. I don't like baked potatoes that much (unless covered in cheese and bacon. Hello brain, this is your rump and hips calling. Don't feed us that crap!)

Lamb Shanks

Let me admit, I made a mistake. These lamb shanks were not bad by any means. However, I wish I had given myself enough time to make the recipe that my Aunt Mikki sent me. I have been craving it now. That said, I must justify my use of another recipe by letting you know our weekly menu had us eating the lamb shanks today and the grocery store didn't get them until today. So I could not marinate the lamb properly. Also, our oven in electric and only has one rack. I didn't know if my roasting pan could be put right onto the coils (I'm guessing not)so this recipe couldn't work. I was very sad but hopeful that next Easter at NPU (which always has gas ovens) I will be able to make it for Todd and friends.

All that said, here is the recipe I used. I don't have a casserole pan, so I did it all in a big pot and then transfered it to my roasting pan with tin foil on it. Also, we didn't have raisins or mint. It was okay, but not great. The pot/pan transfer lost a lot of the spices to the broth.

INGREDIENTS
2 Lamb shanks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups chopped vegetables including carrots, celery, potatoes
1 cup stock or boiling water with a bullion cube
Seasoning - salt and pepper, thyme, oregano, rosemary, one bay leaf
Optional, and highly recommended:
3/4 cup raisins, soaked in sherry for a couple hours
1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves
METHOD
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2 Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Heat an oven-proof dutch oven or casserole pan with a tight fitting cover on medium high heat on the stovetop. Sear the lamb shanks in the casserole pan on both sides until golden brown. Remove shanks to a dish.
3 Heat oil in casserole pan until hot; add onions, garlic, and vegetables and saute for 5 minutes. Add shanks, boiling stock, seasoning, and raisins. Bring to a boil.
4 Cover the casserole pan and bake in the oven for 1 1/2 or 2 hours or until shanks are tender. Remove shanks, strip meat from bones and return meat to the pan.
Serve with fresh mint leaves as garnish.
Serves 4.



It looked really pretty though and with garlic mashed potatoes (instant mashed potatoes and garlic powder) and green beans and a reheated roll from last night it made for a pretty yummy meal.

For those that will be at Easter, I have a twist for your cake choices. How do you feel about Boston Cream Pie? I have been looking for an excuse to make it and this seems like a good one. So let me know what you think. (Any excuse for cheap comments, right?)



Another note that I forgot last time: a half recipe of the rolls makes 15-20 rolls. The full makes 35-40.

$7 dinner? Yes, please!

Aunt Joy, I'm glad you made the Asian Orange Chicken. I should have noted that we will use less corn starch next time, so I hope you liked it and it was worth forgoing your asian takeout.

Well, in good money saving form, I checked what was on sale last week before making our grocery list and weekly menu. And to reward my good behavior, we had delicious bacon wrapped steak sirloins with garlic roasted asparagus for the two of us for less than $7. That's right, less than $7! It was a cheap, special Friday dinner. Plus, Todd made it for me. What a good habibi (It's something Scot McKnight used to call Adam and Eve. So instead of "What a good hubby." it's habibi.)

Todd made the steaks on our griddle and they were a perfect medium with a good char on the outside, seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil. The asparagus went into a 400 degree oven with salt, pepper, lots of chopped garlic, and a drizzle of oil until they were green and tender with a little snap to them. It was such a good dinner.

Next, we take on making lamb shanks. I know what you are thinking (Mom and Corrie probably) "What are you making those for? Who makes lamb?" We are having a Christian Seder Meal with our youth group August 1. It's a traditional Jewish meal to remember the plight from Egypt by the Israelites and God's faithfulness to them through the Passover. It's Christian because we also celebrate Jesus' faithfulness to us and the sacrifice he was. Todd and I had a chance to participate in a few while at North Park, but we never did, so we are excited to do this one. We need the lamb shank bone during the meal to symbolize and remember the lamb sacrificed for blood to put on the door frames so the Angel of Death would pass over their houses. Wow, that sounds way more grim when you type it out.

Anyway, I'm excited to host the meal and try to prepare lamb shanks, and to eat lamb for the first time. We may need to find a special meat market for those. Sounds like an adventure for the weekend!

Another word of praise and excitement. Todd got a call from North Park Seminary today saying his Kern Scholarship was recommended by North Park and passed onto the Kern people. We think it means that North Park Sem recommends him for the Kern Scholarship and now the final decision needs to be made as to if he will receive it. The Kern is full tuition for 3 years of Seminary, so we are hoping he gets it. He also applied for the Presidential Scholarship that is full tuition through the Covenant Church. We won't hear anything until at least May from either one, but I thought I would let you know of our excitement and thankfulness to get this far in one of the scholarships.

So, to sum up: deals, steaks, lamb, scholarships. We're all over the map these days. The photo above is not our steaks, but looks similar, if we had an all white apartment. Speaking of which, we are looking for one for next year, so if you hear of awesomely cheap apartments in Chicago, let me know.

Asian Orange Chicken

It may not be the healthiest thing, but it's pretty darn good. It made for a special Friday night treat. Todd made this one with no help from me. So if you have a question about it, ask him.

Ingredients

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
Directions

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 6. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

We had it with rice and some garlic naan. We didn't make the naan, but I have been wanting to try this recipe. So if you try it before me or have a better one, let me know.

Grilled Salads

First, let me apologize for not having a photo for you. I forgot to take one, and all the grilled salads online look gross.

Second, grilled salads are amazing. My mom and I used to make salads a lot with bag lettuce and cut up chicken nuggets. While delicious (and I would totally eat them again), Todd and I opted for a bit nicer salad.

Ingredients
Romaine Lettuce
Iceberg lettuce (if you want some added crunch)
1/2 cucumber
Fennel seeds
1-2 chicken breasts
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Carrots
Cheese (optional)
Pepper

Directions
1. Cut up lettuce and put in a large bowl so you can toss it all together.
2. Cut up the cucumber and toss them in.
3. Using your vegetable peeler, peel slices of carrot right into the salad.
4. Toast the fennel seeds. Put them in a dry, hot pan and cook them for 3 minutes, stirring them the entire time. Spread them over a baking sheet to let them cool.
5. Cook the chicken however you please. Todd found a good balsamic marinade for ours. I would like to try our leftover rosemary chicken from tonight on it later this week.
6. Mix together even parts balsamic vinegar and EVOO (I hate you Rachel Ray!) and put some pepper in (to taste). Do this in a little jar or something with a lid and shake the snot out of it.
7. Put the fennel seeds in the bowl and toss it all with the dressing.
8. Put it on a plate (or pasta bowls) and serve the chicken on top.
9. Do what you want with the cheese. It's not for me.

It's delicious, nutritious, and fills you up for a while. Make extra chicken or some bread to keep yourself fuller for longer. And it may be a TMI, but have some gas-x on hand.

Lasagna and Rapping

Last night, I made an okay lasagna. I followed the directions on the back of the no-bake noodles box and it was okay. Todd will be gone tonight for 30 Hour Famine at church, so I'm on my own for dinner. The lasagna was a plan ahead so I wouldn't have to make dinner again just for me.

So I make the lasagna, make some cheesy garlic bread (mozz, garlic butter from before, and an Italian loaf of bread), and a salad (Lettuce, carrot shavings, lemon juice and oil dressing) and we sit down and have a nice dinner. Except, we were both in a bit of a silly mood, so we continued to rap "Bust a Move" by Young MC throughout our nice dinner. It's fun to be married to your best friend.

Side note: I was going to curl up with my dinner and watch the opening ceremonies to the Olympic games tonight. But then I remembered that we don't get any tv channels. I want to know if Gretzky gets to light the torch! But it's a good thing we are not in Chicago this year. There was a channel there, NBC Sports, that is probably just doing Olympic coverage 24/7. Last year, I stayed up watching Iron Man triathlons on several occasions. What can I say, I'm a sap for an overcoming hardships story. (Thinking of mom on that last sentence.) But that channel would be the biggest time waster if I were to watch the Olympics in Chicago. I don't need to stay up and watch Women's Curling between Sweden and China (not that I haven't before. Go Sweden!)

Thin Crust Pizza

While I love a good, chewy crust on my pizza, Todd likes the thin crust. And since I am a good wife, I learned to make it. Here is the recipe.

THIN CRUST PIZZA

I actually really like this recipe. We have used it three times now and it's been better every time.

The only problem is how much it makes. I have not had good luck freezing dough, so I figured I just always had to make 2 pizzas. They always make great leftovers. But this week, we decided to make cheesy garlic bread as a snack to keep around. (It didn't stay for long)

Ingredients
3 cloves of garlic
Dried Oregano
6 Tablespoons of butter
Mozz and cheddar cheese
1/3 of the pizza dough

Directions
Combine garlic, butter, and oregano (to taste) in a food processor
Stretch out the dough to make a small looking pizza
Spread a thin layer of butter over the surface of dough
Sprinkle a layer of mozzarella and a layer of Cheddar on the surface
Bake until cheese browns and bubbles

It is so yummy and makes for great snacks during the week. Also, you can spread a very thin layer of the butter mix on the rim of the pizza to give you a little pop when you come to the end of your slice. It makes a lot of butter, so keep it around. It goes great with French bread and pasta.

Be looking for easy fancy fries coming up. It's a Todd Spieker original. Enjoy!

Chicken and Gravy Sandwiches

We moved to this fantastic apartment when we came to Mankato. Never did we think that we would live in a place so nice, especially when we thought we would be in Chicago this year. We know that when we move back to Chicago next year, will be moving a step down in niceness, but not price (unfortunately). But one thing that this building lacks is a good washer and dryer. So every other Monday, I make my way to the laundromat just three blocks away.

You might be thinking "That's horrible. You can't do laundry in your own building?" I actually like it more than walking up and down three flights of stairs in the cold twice that I had to do last year. But another surprise of going is the laundromat has cable, which means the Food Network! So I took the opportunity to watch Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals. And I found Todd's homemade birthday dinner. Yes, it was his birthday on Friday.

Ingredients
2 to 3 lemons, juiced (enough to yield 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
Half a palmful finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 large or 3 to 4 small cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 loaf crusty French bread or 2 batardes (shorter, slightly wider baguettes)
Directions
Heat the oven to low heat.

In a bowl, add the lemon juice, sugar or honey, parsley, garlic and extra-virgin olive oil. Stir to combine. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the dressing, turn to coat and let marinate for 15 minutes.

Heat a large skillet, broiler, grill or grill pan. Shake off excess marinade and cook the chicken for 6 minutes on each side. Remove to a cutting board, let rest for a few minutes and slice on an angle.

While the chicken marinades and cooks, add the butter to a sauce pot over medium heat. When the butter melts, stir in the flour, cook 1 minute, then whisk in the stock. Cook until thickened to a light gravy, about 5 to 6 minutes. Season with black pepper, remove from the heat and stir in the Dijon.

While the chicken cooks, crisp the bread in the warm oven.

Cut the bread into 4 portions and split or halve. Use tongs to dip the sliced chicken in the gravy and fill the rolls. Arrange on a serving platter and serve.

I tried to make it from memory and did pretty well. I forgot the chicken stock for the gravy, so it was more like a sauce. Also, we just served it as chicken. Forget the sandwiches. We made a bit of mashed potatoes and got out some baby carrots to go with it and we had a nice meal. The chicken turned out great; the gravy will be better next time.

To go with the new title of the blog, I will also let you know about my attempt to make our apartment more homey. We took down our Christmas tree (finally) and now the wall with the big windows looks so sad, and white. So, when mom and dad come this weekend for the MSU vs UMD hockey game, mom is going to help me find some curtains to hang. I hope we find something. Also, I'm trying to get Todd to make some crappy shelves to put on this other big, blank wall. We have lots of knick-knacks, picture frames, and more books that could use some shelf space. So this is our