Thank God Hockey's Back

We've all been so much happier now that the Bruins are back.  Pats lost?  Who cares.  They're not sitting in the dark right now.  (Seriously, though, am I the only one who would freak the heck out if I was sitting in a dome with 30,000 people and the lights went out?  I would lose it).  Anyway, hockey.  The B's have been great, and it's so nice to see the kids getting into it.

 

8am.  30 degrees.  Ready to head out for some shooting practice.

We went ice skating today and Jax is now sure that he really wants to play hockey.  Of course, he's ambivalent about actual skating lessons, but he loves the idea.  And Lea, who was extremely hesitant to get on skates, has, in just three times on the ice, come so far.  It's a fun way to spend a couple of hours together.

 

They weren't jumping up and down about going skating.  They were doing a Jilian Michael's DVD.  But either way.

It was a good weekend all around, actually.  Friday night we had pizza dinner with friends which is always a good time.  We used to meet for Upper Crust Pizza, which is still my favoritist pizza ever.  But since they closed, we had to get from someplace else.  Old School Pizza in Wellesley was pretty good.  I recommend the buffalo chicken pizza.

Saturday morning we took the kids to a juggling show at the Regent Theater in Arlington.  Unfortunately, only 1/2 of the juggling duo made it, but he did a great job keeping the kids entertained.  

 

Patiently waiting for the show to start.  The venue could have used a little more heat.

This is the nice time of year where it seems like things slow down a bit - holiday madness is over, but it's not the spring busyness that starts around Lea's birthday.  

And the groundhog saw his shadow, confirming the deeply held suspicions of legions of scientists seeking confirmation for global climate change.  So there's that.

This past week we didn't eat all that much fantastic.  I made this Moroccan Chickpea Stew, which had so much potential.  

But I didn't like it.  I liked it enough to eat it, but not enough to eat the leftovers.  I don't know - it was missing something, but I still can't figure out what it was.  So that recipe's not going up.

But this was pretty good.  The kids found it a little too sweet, so the recipe here reduced the sugar, but if you like your orange chicken the kind of cloying sweet of takeout, add about 1/4 cup brown sugar to the sauce at the simmering stage.

 
Orange Chicken
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 c. corn starch
1/4 c. cooking oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 c. orange juice
1/4 c. marmalade (or apricot preserves)
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce

Toss the cubed chicken in the corn starch until well coated.  Heat a couple of tablespoons of the cooking oil in a nonstick pan until hot but not smoking.  Add 1/2 the chicken and cook over medium-high heat stirring occasionally, until chicken is slightly browned and mostly cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Remove to a bowl, and repeat with the remaining chicken.  

If you need to, wipe out the pan, but no need to clean it thoroughly.  Add 1/2 tsp of oil and saute the garlic over low heat for about 2 minutes, just until softened, but not browned.  Add the orange juice, marmalade, ginger and soy sauce, and simmer until the sauce is reduced by about 1/3. 

Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer until the chicken is totally coated in sauce and is cooked through, about 5 more minutes.  

I served over brown rice, with broccoli and carrots.

This whole post went up during the power outage.  This Superbowl is disappointing in so many ways.  Did you know that in order to win, the 49ers have to score more points?  Thank heavens for all this extra commentary. 

New Format, Good Eats.

We're in the grove now, I think. 

Working. 

 (This is my "I'm so happy to be grading" face)

Having fun.

 At CocoKey Indoor Water Park with Grandma.  She took us to celebrate Jax's 5th birthday!

 Happy Birthday Jax!

 Aren't we cute?

Getting ready for Halloween.

 My favorite witch, ghost and cowboy.

And me as Carmen Miranda.   

Eating. 
(I think that, since I have nowhere near the time to post every day, I'll just do a round up of what we ate during the week from now on.  Of course, that makes the posts incredibly long, but we'll live with it.)

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme and Roasted Potatoes

I used this epicurious recipe with these changes:
*I mixed about a tsp of honey with about 3 tbsp butter and some lemon zest and placed it under the skin before roasting.
*I skipped the lemons on the top.
*I quartered 6 medium red potatoes and a large onion and placed them around the chicken before cooking.  

I served with rice pilaf and frozen peas.

I forgot to get an "after picture" but, aside from the lemons, I swear it looked just like this:

Pumpkin Pancakes with Buttered Walnuts

I used this Martha Stewart Recipe and it was awesome.  No changes.  I did double it. The only thing that I added was this:
chop 1/4 c. walnuts
saute over medium heat in about 3 tbsp butter (preferably salted) until fragrant. 
Serve atop the pancakes with maple syrup.

Prosciutto and Brie Sandwiches with Fig and Eggplant Jam

Ok, so I made the fig and eggplant jam last summer and had it frozen, and I can't remember exactly how I made it.  So if you want to make this sandwich (and I highly recommend that), you can make

Prosciutto and Brie Sandwiches with Apricot Thyme Jam
(serves 2)

1/2 baguette, sliced in half and then halved again in the other direction
1/4 lb prosciutto
4 oz brie, sliced
4 tbsp apricot jam, mixed with 1/4 tsp thyme leaves and a pinch of salt

Spread each of the four quarters with the jam mixture, then top with 2 slices of prosciutto, and then a quarter of the brie.  Bake at 375 for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese is slightly melty.

I served with roasted broccoli, a small salad, and the dijon version of these wicked good potato chips.

This was a very good "eat after the kids go to bed" quick and grown-up dinner.

Spaghetti Pizza
For when you want pizza, but want it fast.

1 box of spaghetti, cooked and drained
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 cups of tomato sauce
8 oz mozzarella cheese
pizza toppings of your choice (we used pepperoni)

Mix the egg and the Italian seasoning, and toss the egg mix with the pasta until it's evenly coated.
Spread the pasta in a large, greased pizza dish, or 2 8X11 glass pans.  Spread it until it's close to flat and press it down with a plate. 

Tossed with egg and ready to be cooked.

 Generously spray it with cooking spray and broil it until the top is browned, about 10 minutes.

Yummy and browned.

Remove from the oven and top with the tomato sauce, cheese, and pizza toppings.  Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes.  Slice as you would a pizza.

I said "shoot, I forgot to take a picture."  

Pete said, "Say it was so good it came out of the oven partially eaten."

Cupcakes
Ok, this isn't really a recipe so much as a hint.
If you want seriously kick-ass chocolate cake or cupcakes, use the King Arthur Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix.  It's worth the extra couple of dollars.  It always gets raves.  Even though we're not gluten free around here, it's far and away the best cake mix out there.
And then you can top it with this decidedly un-gluten-free frosting.  I don't even like frosting, and I ate this by the spoonful.  It's worth the cooking and cooling time.  Seriously. 

Yes, covered up in bad lighting these look like deviled eggs.  

But they were mini chocolate cupcakes with white-yellow-and-orange frosting 

(to look like candy corn). 

All in all, life goes apace.  At this present moment, I refuse to worry about the upcoming hurricane/tropical storm/heavy rain thing that's bearing down upon us.  I'm going so far as to charge all of my devices, and I bought a new book for the Nook.  Anyone read The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window?  Sounds interesting.  I almost got Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore.  What about that one?

Ger-pocolypse, 2012

I was all impressed with myself that I was going to get a good cooking post up today.  We're eating good stuff this week:

Fajitas (Monday):

1 large bell pepper (color of your choosing), sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, sliced in about 1/2 inch slices
flour tortillas
grated cheddar cheese
optional: sour cream, guacamole, salsa

Saute the pepper and onion in about 2 tbsp olive oil over high heat (I recommend a cast iron skillet, if you have one).  When the peppers and onions are blackened and soft, remove to a bowl. 
Over high heat again, saute the chicken until slightly blackened and cooked through, about 6 minutes.  Toss the peppers and onions back in the pan to reheat.
Serve in flour tortillas topped with cheese and whatever other toppings you desire.

 Ham and Cheese Biscuits and homefries (today):

 Your favorite biscuit recipe*
about 1/2 lb deli ham, sliced thin
4 oz. cheddar cheese
deli mustard

Preheat the oven to 425.
Mix up the biscuits, then divide the dough in half.  Press or roll half the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick across and roughly rectangular.  Cut the rectangle into six even pieces and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Top each biscuit with two slices of ham, folded, then some of the cheddar.
Press the other half of the dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle, and spread lightly with the mustard.  Cut into six slices and top each sandwich, mustard side down. 
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the tops have lightly browned.  
I served with homefries and pineapple.

*I love the Moosewood Cookbook biscuit recipe.  If not for the threat of dying of scurvy, I might try to live on them.  But you could do any recipe, including Bisquick or (and I really don't recommend this) biscuits out of a can. 

 Southwestern Hamburger skillet (tomorrow):

 Yeah, I'll get this one up tomorrow.  It's only half done anyway.

So there I was, cooking up tonight's dinner AND tomorrow's dinner, because that's how I roll, when for some reason I go into the sunroom and notice that the cover is not on the gerbil cage.  How long has the cover been off the gerbil cage?  I have no idea.  But I do know that there is only one gerbil in said gerbil cage, where previously there had been two.  

See?  One.  Two.

 And up close.  Two.

Did I mention that we have two dogs that would be more than happy to consume misplaced rodents?  Did I also mention that that fact dawned immediately on the 7 year old whose gerbil had gone missing?  Cue the waterworks.  And the burning dinner.

I was luckily able to salvage the homefries (we're still out of ketchup, as we have been for two weeks) and get the biscuits out of the oven.  They were super tasty, but I didn't get pictures of the completed meal.  

And, since I like a good narrative arc, we did a little poking around after dinner and found the escapee gerbil underneath an armoire.  We scooped that little bugger up and plunked him back in his home, where his brother gerbil is adamantly refusing to let him back into their shared little gerbil house.  It's a squeakfest in there.  But Lea was elated, and I think we all learned a valuable lesson in putting the top back on the friggin' cage.

Let's hope tomorrow's dinner comes with a few more pictures and a smidge less drama.

Chicken Parm

Here's the thing.  Everyone should know how to make chicken parm.  If there's a person on the planet who doesn't like it, I don't want to know them.  It's perfect - a little fried, a little cheese, and served with a side of carbs.  

Here's the other thing.  It just takes practice.  It's hard to heat the oil to the right temp so the chicken cooks through but the breading doesn't burn.  You have to figure out if you like regular breadcrumbs or panko, how much cheese is just the right amount for you, whether you prefer it with pasta or spaghetti. There's no right answer; it's always delicious.  But it takes practice - the first few times the chicken will be burnt, or gummy, or be ready 15 minutes before the pasta.  When you have a good chicken cutlet down, though, there's nothing you can't do in the kitchen.

Chicken Parmesan
4 thin sliced chicken breasts
1/3 c. panko
2/3 c. italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 eggs
olive oil for frying
jar of tomato sauce
3/4 c. grated mozzarella cheese

Mix the panko and traditional breadcrumbs together on a plate.  In a wide bowl, beat the eggs.  Carefully and completely dip each chicken breast in the egg, then dredge through the breadcrumbs, pressing down so each piece is completely coated.  There will probably be some breadcrumbs left over.

In a deep wide frying pan, heat about 1/2 c. olive oil.  A good test for heat is to drop in a small piece of regular white bread.  If it sizzles and browns in about 30 seconds, it's a good heat.  Place 2 chicken breasts in the oil and cook until a golden brown, then flip and do the same on the other side (this should take about 3 minutes per side, depending on how thin the chicken is).  Remove from heat and place in a lightly greased 8X11 glass dish.

Add about another 1/4 c. of olive oil to the pan and repeat the process with the second two chicken breasts.  

Pour tomato sauce on each of the chicken breasts.  Top each piece of chicken with some of the grated mozzarella.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.  Make it perfect by broiling it for a minute or two to brown the cheese slightly.  

Serve over pasta, grating parmesan cheese over all.  Add a side salad and your meal is perfect.  Viola!

A Walk in the Woods

We're nearing the end of summer, and we've managed to cross most stuff off our fun summer to do list. Hiking, however, lingered until yesterday.  There's a great state park about 3 miles from us.  If you haven't been to Callahan State Park and you live in the area, you should absolutely go.  That goes double if you have dogs, since the whole place is very dog friendly.  

There's two entrances, and we normally go to one of them (helpful, huh?  I just can't remember which one.  The North one?  The West one?)  I'll look it up.  Okay, I think that we go to the Millwood Street entrance. That side of the park has some wooded areas, some open fields, and a great little muddy pond that dogs love to swim in.  Not our dogs, mind you, as they don't really like other dogs and I'm not about to bring them someplace where they're going to be stressed out and get in a fight.  That would be bad doggy parenting.  Anyway, this time, we decided to try the other side of the park.  It was okay.  Much more wooded, and the paths weren't marked as well.

It was as steep as it looks.  

We didn't intentionally color coordinate the lunch bag and the outfit.  Swear it.

Most importantly, I learned that if you can't really read a trail map and have a poor sense of direction, don't go hiking someplace new with your children.  We had to give up and turn around after about 45 minutes of my saying "I'm pretty sure we're headed in the right direction."  But we didn't get hopelessly lost, and we did see some frogs, a snake, and got to pee behind a huge rock.  Everyone wins.

Then we got well earned ice cream at Gerards, which thankfully reopened.  Again, if you live around here, go.  And go early, because they close at 6 and the BBQ is really good.  

So we were hot and tired and I wanted an easy dinner.  Grill!  Possibly the best thing about the grill is that there are almost no dishes to do after cooking.

Given that, we grill a lot in the summer.  But you can only eat so many hamburgers before you want to change things up.  These are a little healthier, easy to throw together, and look nice on a plate.

Greek Turkey Burgers
(There has got to be a bad history teacher joke here about Greece and Turkey, but I'm not making it)

1 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
10 black olives, chopped (optional)
1 egg, lightly beaten

rolls, lettuce, tomato, and whatever else you like on a burger for serving.

Place all of the ingredients for the turkey burgers in a large bowl and mix with a fork.  Try to make sure that everything's well incorporated, without making the turkey too mushy.  It's a fine line.

Form the mix into patties.  I made 6 patties, but if you'd like a slightly more substantial burger, make 5.  Make the patties only about 1/2-3/4 inch thick, because you want them to cook all the way through without being charred on the outside.

Preheat the grill to medium, and make sure your grates are well oiled.  When the grill is hot, place the burgers gently on the grates and let cook for about 6 minutes without disturbing them.

Gently flip the burgers and let cook for another 6 minutes.  Check to make sure that the turkey is cooked all the way through.

Place on rolls and top as you like.  I served with orzo and a salad.  

Healthy and yummy.

Damn Book

In here is a recipe for Tandoori Chicken and Indian-Spiced Creamed Corn.  Just scroll on down.

I've been cooking.  And kid-ing.  And all the usual stuff.  But I haven't been posting.  Mostly because I've been too busy reading the 5th book in the Game of Thrones series.  And I'm annoyed because I don't even like it all that much.  I'm just about at the middle, and we're starting to get back to the characters that I care about but seriously, Danaerys?  Don't care.  Yeah, yeah, you're kind and everyone wants to take advantage of you and blood of the dragon yadda yadda.  How about hanging out with three people whose names I can keep straight?  And while I'm at it, how about everyone just holds on to their original name for more than one chapter?  Just tell me what the hell is going on with the Stark children and I'm good.

I'm the most annoying character ever, and yet I just won't die!

I'm sorry to people who actually have some kind of life.  You have no idea what I'm talking about.  

Otherwise it's been good stuff.  Quick one night trip with some friends to the beach, and that was great.

We hit the indoor pool while the rainbow came out,

Dining at their own table,

Beach day.

Day two of ice cream.

The way home.  Think they had fun?

Tomorrow the plan's to hit the Ecotarium.  I've never been; I hope it's fun.

So I said that I was going to update about waffles and apples, but I wasn't super crazy about the waffles.  Instead we have Tandori Chicken with Indian-Spiced Creamed Corn (served with naan and sliced cucumbers).  It was good and easy.

Tandori Chicken
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small container plain greek yogurt (I like Fage)
about 2 tbsp tandori seasoning*

Cut the chicken into about 1 inch chunks.

Stir the tandoori seasoning into the yogurt and mix well.  Stir the chicken into the yogurt mix and make sure it's thoroughly coated.  It can sit anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight.

This is me, forgetting to take pictures as I go and attempting to make it up after the fact.

Heat a grill to high heat and make sure it's well oiled.  

Thread the chicken onto 4 skewers and cook, turning once, for about 7 minutes per side.

Umm, raw chicken.

  
Serve either on or off the skewers.

*I really like this one that I got at Whole Foods.  That said, I kind of want to punch myself in the face for using a spice by a company called "Urban Accents."

Indian-Spiced Creamed Corn

I know that in an ideal cooking world all corn dishes are made with corn fresh off the cob.  I never like to spend the time and always cheat and use frozen corn.  

Good enough for me!

1 12 oz package frozen corn, thawed
1 small onion, diced fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
about 1/3 c 1/2 and 1/2
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp garam masala spice mix*
olive oil for sauteeing

On low heat, saute the diced onion and the minced garlic until the onion is translucent.  

Add a little less than 1/2 the package of corn, and set aside.

In a Cuisinart or using a hand-held blender, puree the rest of the corn, adding 1/2 and 1/2 to your desired thickness.

I took like 9 pictures.  There was no way to make this not look like sludge.

Mix the corn and onion mixture with the pureed corn and place in a greased 8X8 baking dish.  Top with a splash more 1/2 and 1/2 and put in a 350 degree oven until it's warm (at least 15 minutes, but it's forgiving.  If you'd like to make it before putting the chicken on the grill, that's probably ok.  Just check to make sure it's not too dried out before serving).

As it heats, mix the garam masala and the butter.

When serving, top the corn with the spiced butter (you can do this on individual plates or on the whole dish, depending on the taste preferences of those with whom you are dining).

I'll get better at remembering "plating" pictures.  

I just lied to you, internet.

* This does not have to be Urban Accents brand.  Ugh.  I'm suffering from inadvertent-hipster self loathing.

Look what I found as I was uploading pictures for this post.  Looks like someone got his hands on my camera.  Sherman Klump, is that you?*

*ugh, more self-loathing.  I can't believe I just referenced one of the worst Eddie Murphy movies ever.  This needs to stop.

Alright, this was good.  It's been fun catching up.  And tomorrow I'll post the noodlecake with tofu recipe that was also super easy and everyone liked.