Rave Reviews

Choosing a menu can be difficult.  You want to please everyone, impress everyone.  In day to day life I strive to be the perfect wife and just make my husband happy.  Despite the short lifespan of my blog thus far you've probably figured that out....clearly, the guy likes curry. 

Another favorite is Mexican food.  Whether I'm cooking or we are headed out, Mexican is a favorite.  I would say we eat out a good amount and when looking for Mexican we generally end up at Arriba Tortilla in East Aurora.  We are what you would call regulars.  It's almost embarrassing, we always have the same waitress and we both order the exact same dishes each time.  I guess if it ain't broke......

So the other night I tried a new recipe for Chicken and Black Bean-Stuffed Burritos from Cooking Light.  It was fast, easy, and quite tasty!  So imagine my surprise when I got the best compliment I could ever get from Jon....."this is the best burrito I've ever eaten."  Now, I'm not foolish enough to actually believe that statement, I mean really, I can't compete with Chipotle.  But still, message received....this is a good dish.  So the recipe has been starred as a favorite and noted that it's great for freezing!

Chicken and Black Bean-Stuffed Burritos

1/4 c. water
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
2 c. shredded cooked chicken breast
1/4 c. thinly slived green onions (which I actually left out)
3/4 c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. refrigerated fresh salsa
Flour Tortillas (4)
1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Bring first 6 ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan.  Stir in shredded chicken and green onions.

Combine beans and salsa.  Spoon 1/4 c. bean mixture and 1/2 c. chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; sprinkle with 2 Tbsp cheese.  Roll up.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add 2 burritos.  Cook for 3 minutes on each side.  Remove and repeat with remaining burritos. 

Quest for comfort

Winter is finally settling in,holidays just about over...time for home cooking! After all the running around over Christmas, the eating out, etc I was beyond excited when Monday night rolled around and I could stay in with Jon and cook us dinner. Not to mention I have a pretty stressful month coming up that already has me up at night. Cue the stress relief....cooking and blogging!

So Monday night, cold weather, cozy night at home = comfort food! Time to test out a new recipe from my Reader's Digest Soups & Salads cookbook...

Goulash Soup

4 slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp hot paprika
2 lbs boneless beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 quarts beef stock/broth
1 large green pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 large plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 lb dried egg noodles

In a 6 quart soup pot, cook bacon over medium heat. Transfer bacon to plate and set aside.

Remove and discard all but 1 Tbsp of bacon drippings. Add onion and garlic to reserved drippings and sauté over medium heat until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika. Add beef, stock, and bell pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Add potatoes and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in noodles and simmer until noodles and potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with reserved bacon.

Pretty tasty. It was pretty entertaining, Jon kept sneaking some bacon whenever he walked by, so I hid the plate. I then served the dish, completely forgetting about the bacon...which I found 2 days later...so I guess, I'm my mother! I consider myself very lucky!

A Very Merry Christmas

After such a great holiday weekend I must admit, I'm a little bummed to be going back to work today. The only cloud to the weekend was my constant fight against the common cold, tis the season. My favorite part of Christmas is without a doubt the wonderful feeling I get knowing how lucky I am to have so much family to spend my holiday with. I've been fortunate to always make it home for the holiday to find the same traditions year after year. That blessing is not lost on me and it is why I look forward to this time of year.

Unfortunately even a big family and lots of holiday cheer can't take the place of the ones who weren't here to celebrate with us. We sure did miss the Lilleys, Kings and Harris family as they all stayed home to celebrate in Charlotte, Atlanta, and Chicago. With them, the holiday would have been perfect!

As for traditions, I think I found a new one for Jon and I. After everyone left Christmas morning, we laid on the couch together in front of the fire, eating skittles (the most amazing stocking stuffer) and watching a movie. Followed by a walk around the neighborhood in the sun! Perfect!

Our Tree, not having dining room furniture has its perks!

My bag of Skittles, Santa did NOT mess around

View from the couch....Perfection

Look!!! Jon DID help with the fire!

White Chile with Quick-Roasted Garlic

Here's a yummy recipe we had by Melissa D'Arabian which I got from the January 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine.

For the Roasted Garlic:

12 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 Tb EVOO

Toss the garlic cloves w/the EVOO and 1 teas water in a microwave-safe bowl.  Cover, leaving a vent, and microwave until softer, about 90 seconds.  Let cool, covered.

For the Chili:

12 shallots, chopped
2 Tbsp EVOO
3 Anaheim chile peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp flour
1 C. dry white wine
7 C. chicken broth
4 C. shredded cooked chicken
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 15 oz can navy beans, undrained (feel free to substitute another white bean)
Salt & Pepper
1 10 oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
3/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/3 C. heavy cream
1 C. grated monterey jack cheese

Preheat broiler.  Cook the shallots in the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until carmelized, about 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, place the chiles on a foil-lined broiler pan and broil until charred on all sides, turning about 8 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl, cover w/plastic wrap and let cool.  Peel the peppers w/your fingers or a paring knife.  Stem, seed and chop.

Add the minced garlic to the shallots and cook about 2 minutes.  Add the flour and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 3 minutes.  Increase the heat to high and add the wine; simmer 2 minutes, scraping browned bits from the pan.  Add the roasted chiles, 6 cups broth, the chicken, chili powder, cayenne, beans, and salt and pepper to taste.  Return to simmer.

Meanwhile, squeeze the soft pulp from the roasted garlic into a blender or food processor.  Add the remaining 1 cup broth and process until smooth.  Add to the chili and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes, adding the spinach during the last 5 minutes.  Add the paprika and cream and season w/salt and pepper.  Garnish with cheese. 

Move Over Martha

So just over a week ago I had a hell of a productive Sunday: that is if you judge productivity through culinary masterpieces, which I obviously do. 

It was a nonstop, kind of day.  I managed to make it to shop, clean, visit with family, and wrap gifts all before I hit the kitchen for my marathon afternoon/evening.  For the first year ever, I made cut-out cookies.  True, not a huge accomplishment....I get it, but I had never done it before.  The most exciting part was of course using my standing Kitchen Aid mixer!!!!  It only took 2 years, but yes, I loved it!

So I set out baking and decorating, baking, decorating....blah blah blah blah blah.  Gosh, baking cookies sure does get exhausting.  I tried really hard to make them pretty, but can't say I was too successful.  All I do know, is a lot of love went into all of them (well maybe not the last 15 or so). 

As soon as I finished baking the cookies (meaning I finished decorating about 50% of them), I had to get started on dinner.....Roasted Chicken, dun, dun dun.  This would be my 4th or 5th attempt at Roasted Chicken.  There is just something about chicken, I never time it right.  Every attempt has pretty much ended up with Jon and I eating all the sides first as I had to put my raw chicken back in the oven.  But as today I was a culinary genius, not only did I make the perfect roast chicken, I made amazing sides (specifically my garlic mashed potatoes),  all while I continued to frost my not so gorgeous but tasty cookies, and my chicken and sides were all ready at the same time!!!! That's right, Martha Stewart ain't got sh#t on me! 

Can't say I didn't warn you...

Before winter sets in I was determined to prepare Fall Vegetable Curry. I wasn't lying, we eat a lot of curry. I like this recipe because it's got a little bit of a kick to it and it fascinates me that I've managed to prepare a vegetarian dish that Jon will actually eat! Pat myself on the back! Although to be honest, he was craving a protein this time, so I threw some shrimp in there to make him happy, spoiled much?

Fall Vegetable Curry

1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 c. Diced, peeled sweet potato
1 c. Small cauliflower florets
1/4 c. Thinly sliced yellow onion
2 tsp Madras curry powder (no Madras, use 1 1/2 tsp curry & 1/2 tsp red pepper)
1/2 c. Vegetable broth (I use chicken)
1/4 tsp salt
1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 ox can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and sauté 3 minutes. Decrease heat to medium and add cauliflower, onion, and curry powder. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Add broth and next 3 ingredients (through tomatoes); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve over basmati rice with some cashews mixed in. Yum!

Comfort food

If I were a chef or restauranteur...I would serve comfort food. I mean really, who doesn't love comfort food?! So last week when I had an opportunity to cook a few nights and was doing some menu planning for the next couple weeks I made sure to include lots of comfort food options. So to share with you, Wednesday night we had Bistro Braised Chicken compliments of...Cooking Light, obviously! This is pretty cheap to make and the ingredients are all generally something I have at all times so it's an easy go to.

1 Tbsp butter, divided
8 bone-in chicken thighs
1 c. Thinly sliced carrot
3/4 c. Chopped onion
1/2 c. Sliced celery
8 pitted dried plums, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried sage
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 14 oz can fat-free chicken broth
3/4 c. Water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 c. Cooked egg noodles

Melt 1 tsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes, browning both sides. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add remaining 2 tsp butter to pan. Add carrot, onion, celery, and dried plums; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring frequently. Stir in thyme and sage; cook 30 seconds. Stir in mustard. Add broth and 3/4 c. Water; bring to a simmer.

Return chicken to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and simmer until sauce is reduced by half (about 10 minutes). Stir in salt and pepper. Serve over noodles.
Something about this dish reminds me of chicken noodle soup...what's more comforting than that?! Bon appetite!