Cook. Craft. Enjoy.

That's Some Spicy Shrimp

If you've been reading for a while, you've probably noticed that I don't cook much seafood.  The unfortunate part is that no one in the house likes it except for Travis and I -- and I feel it's a waste of my time to make something for just he and I when I'd have to turn around and create something different for everyone else.  (Not to mention the incredible mess that would make.)  However, since my brother comes over on Saturday nights to join us for dinner (and he likes seafood), I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try out a new recipe:  green shrimp curry.

Basically it's shrimp simmered in a coconut green curry paste sauce and then topped with sliced chilies, fresh basil leaves and strips of cucumber.  It was so delicious -- but it was also very very spicy.  My brother and I both agreed that we liked the green curry taste but would love to try the same recipe using red curry paste instead ... the flavor is a little richer.  Definitely something I'd like to repeat!

Breadsticks

Yesterday was Don's birthday so I told him to decide what he wanted me to cook for dinner.  For me if someone asked I'd probably come up with something exotic and out of the ordinary but he just wanted spaghetti and sausage.  To make it seem I did a little more work then just throw that together I opted to make some homemade breadsticks to go with it.

The unfortunate part?  I thought they'd like the harder kind of breadsticks to dip into their spaghetti sauce but it was received as a "eh, don't do that again".  I'm sure by today they'll be fine (I put them into a zipper top bag to soften up) but last night, while they were eaten, they weren't inhaled.

Ehh... Muffins

If you've noticed, I've done a little more baking than usual lately -- or I should say my kids have gotten into cooking and they've been doing a little more baking than usual.

This is another recipe from Muffins Galore by Catherine Atkinson that Travis tried out while my mom was here.  The title is "Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins" and use a chocolate muffin batter with a cheesecake-ish filling topped with almonds.

How were they?  Eh .. not memorable.   Amazingly they didn't have much flavor and didn't seem to be worth eating.  (Though refrigerating them seemed to help their texture.)  So, a recipe we won't be making again.  (Makes a great looking photo though!)

What else is happening around here?  Well, our beautiful new pool has not been getting the workout I thought it would -- Liam developed his first ever ear infection so he's been banned until at least Wednesday.  The weather has just been miserably hot (like 108) so we've all been staying inside as much as possible (and to the kids happiness they've been play Warcraft a little more than I would like).  Oh and speaking of Warcraft, Travis got his 2nd character ('toon) to 70 last night with a little help from me and another player so he's a happy camper.

Happy Monday all!

Banana Snack Cake

For lunch every day Liam eats a peanut butter sandwich with bananas, spicy hot cheetos and baked Lay's potato chips.  I'm not quite sure how that ritual started, but that's what's on his menu daily.  Once school starts we'll have to come up with another meal (peanut butter/banana sandwiches don't transport well) but for now I have to make sure to always have bananas in the house.

Always having bananas in the house also means several times a week we have old bananas in the house.  (Liam only likes them when they're yellow with no brown spots -- I think he gets that from me.)  So instead of throwing them away I really like to find good ways to use them.  Last week when my mom was here I assigned Adrienne to bake this cake while I was out running errands.

Looks pretty good, doesn't it?  Adrienne had a few issues with the baking of it (like spilling ingredients on the counter, not reading the recipe all the way through first, forgetting to preheat the oven) but even with the mishaps it came out good and we ate our way through it in a couple of days.

A Little Different

How many cooking magazines do you subscribe to?  I think my list is down to about 4 but still one of my favorites is Eating Well.  It's not the biggest cooking magazine out there, and unfortunately it's not published monthly, but usually the recipes are pretty down to earth and look delicious.

A few weeks ago I felt like something a little different and chose their Middle Eastern Chickpea Platter. 

A salad made of eggplant, garlic and chickpeas in a tahini based dressing, add some Kalamata olives, feta cheese, tomatoes and pita bread and you've got a light, healthy delicious meal for summer.

The big question is how did everyone like it ... Travis, my brother and I really liked it.  Don I don't think was crazy about it and Adrienne and Liam didn't even give it a shot (good thing they like pasta with parmesan cheese!).  I'm not sure I'd make it again anytime soon (mainly because I hate having to make multiple meals) but it's something to keep in mind when you're looking for something light, fresh and tangy.

Lisa commented about yesterday's post and asked what I served the dip with -- they're Plantain chips from Trader Joe's (what was recommended).  And by the way, I tried the leftovers yesterday and they just weren't good straight from the refrigerator.  I think the tang of the cotija mixed with the slightly metallic taste of cilantro clashed.  So if you are going to make that dip, I don't think I'd save the leftovers.

Spread or Dip?

My mom went home last night and it was sad to see her go -- we had a wonderful time while she was here (even if we didn't do much) and G-d willing she'll be back again in November to spend another couple of weeks with us.

For her "going away" dinner, we invited my brother over as well and started with an interesting appetizer I found on Rachael Ray's Everyday Food website - Chipotle Artichoke DIp.

It was an interesting combination of cilantro, garlic, chipotle, artichokes and cheese -- I couldn't decide if I really liked it or it was just so-so.  My mom thought it could use some creamy base -- like maybe sour cream and my brother suggested a fresh jalapeno (or habanero) or two.  Me?  I think it would taste good on some toast points broiled to melt the cheese.

In any case, I don't think I'll be making it again -- or maybe switching it up and making this a warm dip instead of a cold one.  All I know is it's good to be back to blogging again.  :-)

No, I Haven't Quit

I've had a couple of people ask me if I've given up on my blog and the answer is a definite "no".  I think I needed a little break when I wasn't feeling well -- and now my mom has been here for the past 2 weeks (with one more week to go) and we've just been enjoying her while she's here.  What else have we been doing?

Well, for the last 6 or 7 weeks we've had our backyard in a disaster but to a good end ...

Yep, we had a pool built.  The backyard landscaping is almost done -- and should be finished by Monday.  Hopefully I'll get some more photos so I can show it off. 

Grandma's had an exciting week too ... she went and had an item checked off her "bucket list" and got a tattoo ...

It's on the outside of her leg slightly above her ankle.  For those who don't know, the teal cancer ribbon symbolizes the fight against ovarian cancer.  My mom was diagnosed with stage IV over a year ago and has fought against it with some great medical care and the "nothing will beat me" spirit she's always had.  I admire her strength and determination and am glad she can wear this badge of honor -- for she truly is a survivor.

My final "share" for this post is the newest member of our household ... Elsa.

My mom and Adrienne went to the shelter yesterday and brought Elsa home -- she's a 5 year old sweetie (though much to my dismay not housebroken!) and it will be fun to have her in the house.

As for my plans for the blog?  Once my mom goes home next Tuesday I should be able to start my postings regularly again.  I want to thank everyone who has stuck with me on my absence (and those that have emailed me wondering what was up!) -- and hopefully I'll be bringing you some yummy food and fun crafty projects soon. :-)

On a Short Break ...

Just a quick note to let you know I probably won't be posting much in the next week or so.  I haven't been feeling great so my energy level is close to nil.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and talk at you soon! :-)

Away

Happy Independence Day!  For those of you that are celebrating today, anything fun going on?

Wednesday I took the kids down to California and we're here until Monday.  Yesterday we went to Disneyland (one of my favorite places!) and today we're just going to hang out and have a bbq with our good friends.

Yesterday's Disney day was HOT! HOT! and I feel like we melted a bit during the day.  One of the neatest things, though, is we got to ride on the new Toy Story Ride.

The idea of the ride is you wear 3-D glasses and get to play carnival games for a score.  The "car" you sit in has a small "gun" type device mounted in front of you and you pull a string back and forth to fire off whatever it is you're shooting.  It could be as different as pies, darts, balls or rings and your job is to hit the targets for the most points.  We had a great time -- and had it not been so hot we probably would have waited in line again for it.  (The wait wasn't bad .. maybe 30 minutes.)  If you get a chance to get over to DCA, I'd recommend checking it out.

Let's Not Repeat These Meatballs

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time you know I love to try new recipes.  Sometimes they're weird, sometimes they're normal, but I enjoy having something different for dinner all the time.  This past weekend I opted for a recipe on the Food Network that was showcased on Emeril Live - Sausage Meatballs with Red Gravy.  Apparently this recipe is one a New Orleans firefighter feeds to the crew of his firehouse.  The recipe states it serves 4 (plus enough) but it really serves more like 12.  We had 6 people eat and more than half was left.

The one good thing I have to say about it is that Travis made it (mostly) by himself -- and did a great job keeping things in order while he did it.  The not so good thing?  They tasted weird and not in a good way.  The recipe (link above -- I'm not going to post it) uses ground beef, mild Italian sausage and hot Italian sausage mixed together.  While I can see the novelty of doing such a thing, the execution just didn't work for me.  (Though in all fairness we froze the leftovers so Don can have them this coming week as leftovers.)

Guess we'll stick to either meatballs or sausage and not a hybrid of the two.

Muffin or Biscuit?

Travis has really started taking an interest in cooking lately.  Saturday it was our dinner (which I'll blog about later) and yesterday it was these muffins.

Last week I got a few new cookbooks from Costco including this one:  Muffins Galore by Catherine Atkinson.  There's several cookbooks in the series including Cookies Galore and Cupcakes Galore both of which I also own.  I like them because they have fabulous photographs and because they're published in the UK give a little different spin to desserts than those we usually find here in the US.

The recipe Travis chose looked simple:  Vanilla Chocolate Chip Muffins.  Just 8 ingredients and 4 steps ... easy, right?  Um, mostly.  The recipe has you cut the butter into the flour like you're making biscuits -- and then combining it all with the wet ingredients.  And yes, they did come out with a biscuity taste to them -- but that's not a bad thing -- just unexpected.  Guess if he makes them again I'll have to go to the garage and find my pastry blender.

Chicken with Peppers

I know there are many out there that don't care for Rachael Ray and her persona, but I really think she comes up with some great recipes at times (and other times, not so much).  My only issue with her 30-minute meal concept is that a great majority of her recipes take much longer than the 30 minutes she states.  And while I don't mind spending upwards of an hour cooking dinner at times, don't advertise it'll be ready in 30 when it won't.

This recipe for grilled chicken and mashed potatoes is one of those recipes.  This time I opted for chicken breasts instead of thighs (I am not a fan of chicken thighs), small mushrooms instead of portobellos, and making the mashed potatoes "plain" by only adding some milk and butter and it was ready in about 50 minutes.

No matter, it was still a delicious meal and one that I'll repeat again.  You wouldn't think a quick sit in balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire and some spices would produce much more than a mess of flavors but they actually work.  And best yet you don't have to add much more than a salad for this meal to be complete.

Blueberry Tart

Looking for a light fruit dessert for the summer?  Look no farther than Eating Well's Blueberry Tart with Walnut Crust.

It was the final recipe I tried from my Saturday cooking spree out of the magazine and we all loved it.  (Well, except Liam and he doesn't care for much.)  It wasn't too sweet and there was just enough of everything to make it great.  (Not only that but it makes a great presentation.)

Two More Picnic Recipes

Yesterday I shared with you the Bean & Tomato salad (yum!) and today I'll let you know what else we had for our dinner (and dessert too.. but I think I'll save that for tomorrow ...)

The protein of the dinner was Maple-Mustard Baked Chicken which I thought was just "okay" (everyone ate it though so it wasn't bad).  I'm not going to post the recipe, but if you're interested, click on the link above.

Basically it's chicken that you marinate in a Dijon mustard/maple syrup/thyme marinade, coat with fresh bread crumbs and then bake.  I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts whereas the recipe calls for bone-in chicken but I can't imagine that would make that big of a difference.  Oh, and that cup of orange next to the chicken?  Liam got a cookbook for his birthday that uses silicone cupcake cups to make different things -- one of the recipes was to make baked risotto and he decided we had to have that too.  Came out pretty good for baked rice.

The other recipe that I tried was for Country Potato Salad and it was a winner.  I was very leary of using buttermilk to coat the potatoes as the dressing but honestly it worked out great.  (In fact I made my brother taste it before I poured the buttermilk over the potatoes -- he declared it edible so we were safe.)  He took some of the leftovers home and said it tasted even better the next day (whereas he thought the bean and tomato salad really didn't).

Perfect Picnic Salad

Last week my August issue of Eating Well magazine came in the mail and like usual I set it aside to look at later.  Most of the time I don't find recipes to make out of magazines because either (1) what I would like, I know no one else in the house would eat or (2) the recipes are too time consuming and ingredient laden for the perceived results.  This month's issues, however, caught my eye on several recipes.  Saturday, when my brother came over, I made 3 of them and I think this one was my (and my brother's) favorite (I'll share the other 2 recipes with you tomorrow).

The article the recipe came from is all about eating locally and celebrating the bounty of the harvest.  Unfortunately living in the desert we have little bounty but for a little while we could pretend to be elsewhere where we might see something else grow besides cactus.  (In all fairness a few things grow here -- mainly apples -- but I'd really love to live close enough to enjoy local produce.)

The title of the recipe is Bean and Tomato Salad with Honey Vinaigrette.  I think next time I would add more green beans but otherwise it was great.  My brother said he thought that without the fresh basil it would just be "okay" but with it it pushes it over the edge to "great".  Leftovers the next day I added some tuna and it made a wonderful light lunch.