Friday, November 5, 2010

Happy Food Finds

I made some mystery dinners this week that were really good. I thought I would share, cuz it's the nice thing to do. The first is cornbread. I haven't always been friends with cornbread, but have come to really like it as I've gone along in life. It is a tricky thing to make though, because it can be dry and then it is no fun. This was moist and delicious...I think the buttermilk makes the difference.

Cornbread (from Tasty Kitchen)

Ingredients
  • 1 cup Cornmeal, Fine Grind
  • 1 cup All-purpose Flour
  • ½ cups Sugar
  • ½ teaspoons Salt
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 10 T. Melted Butter (5 oz. by weight)
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 1 cup Buttermilk

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare an 8×8″ glass baking dish with baking spray.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Melt the butter in a pan. Pour the buttermilk into a glass measuring cup, add the egg and whisk to combine. Finally, add the melted butter to the wet ingredients.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Top with butter and honey and serve hot!


Next comes the soup. I took a picture...the soup is way better than the picture. My additions are in red.
Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup from My Kitchen Cafe

2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup diced carrots (about 2 regular carrots or a handful of baby carrots)
3 cups chicken broth
2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (I like to leave the peels on red potatoes, if using them)
1 cup milk (more if needed to thin the soup later)
4 tablespoons flour
1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese
2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I used rotisserie chicken)
1 tsp. garlic powder
dash of cayenne

In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent. Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty. I usually place the unwrapped cream cheese on a plate and microwave it for one minute at 30% power. I like it really, really soft so it doesn’t leave lumps in the soup. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well. Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt, pepper garlic powder and cayenne. Serve.

Finally, a pasta dish.

Citrus and Pepper Fettucine Alfredo (adapted from a Tasty Kitchen recipe)

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Fettucine Pasta
  • 4 Tablespoons Butter
  • 1½ cups Heavy Cream
  • 1 pinch Nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons Fresh Grated Lemon Zest
  • 1 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  • Salt To Taste
  • 2/3 cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to boil. When the water is boiling, add 1 Tablespoon of salt along with the pasta to the pot. Stir well. Cook according to package directions until al dente.

Put the butter and cream in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until the cream has reduced almost by half. Add the nutmeg, lemon zest, black pepper, salt, and cheese. Stir to combine, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed.

Combine pasta and sauce. Serve with additional cheese or topped with chicken. Whatever floats your boat. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

They're all yummy...enjoy!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

A Rainy Halloween

There is candy in every nook and cranny of my house it seems. We went to Heather's work for a big party complete with games and rootbeer floats, plus trick or treating from desk to desk and office to office. It was so fun - thanks for the invite Heather! On Friday it was time for the annual trick or treat bonaza at Chad's work...
more candy followed by pizza and soda for lunch provided by the boss. Sweet. Saturday morning was spent with Sann Dee at yet another Halloween bash...games galore, a cookie decorating station, and a magician! I was surprised that the kids were still excited about trick or treating Saturday night, but they were and they needed all the enthusiasm they could muster to face THE RAIN!












I must say that I've been spoiled by the Halloween weather we've enjoyed the last four years or so...fairly mild and DRY! What a bummer it was to watch the seven day forcast and see that rain cloud smack dab on Saturday. We bundled up as best we could against the elements and spent an hour outside trick or treating our immediate neighborhood. (I wasn't willing to venture far in case someone needed the potty (i.e. Grant) or in case someone got too cold and/or tired.) Even only walking the length of our street, the kids got plenty of treats. Add that to their two-day haul and their bags were full to the brim...even after my late night purge when I got rid of all the really weird looking stuff! It's going to be a long, long while before they make their way through it all - especially since I'm the candy Nazi and will only let them have a little bit each day. Oh well, their teeth will thank me!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Pumpkin Carving 2010

We gathered up our pumpkins (three from the garden and two store bought) to carve them for our FHE activity. The kids were all excited, more for the finished product than for the actual gooey, scraping work that makes Merritt gag every year. I like cleaning out the pumpkins...it's sort of satisfying to me for some reason. Anyhoo, they got their hands dirty, which is all part of the fun, and designed their own faces. The pumpkins turned into very fine jack-o-lanterns. I love Halloween!



We figured it was a bit too much work to carve 5 pumpkins at once, so we focused on the kids' masterpieces and then worked on ours after they all went to bed. It turned into a fun, improptu date. I made a vampire jack-o-lantern while Chad got super creative and carved his to read, "Trick or Treat."










Happy Halloween!!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

A Sower Went Forth To Sow...

We read the parable of the sower as found in the Gospel of Mark last week. The discussion that ensued was so wonderful and interesting. We talked about how the sower (Christ and those who follow Him) was good and the seed (the gospel) was good, but that the soil (our hearts) was not always what it should be. Sometimes we are hard hearted and won't accept what is taught, sometimes we are choked with the cares of this world and don't hear what is taught, sometimes we think the word does not apply to us and thus it falls by the wayside, sometimes we get excited about what is taught and resolve to apply it, but then we get busy and burdened and do not continue in faithfulness. Sometimes, though, we get it...we really receive the word and change and grow! It is all up to us.

Chad took Grant's doodle board and drew two trees, one with tiny roots (to represent the seed sown in stony ground) and one with roots that were deep and true. He showed it to the children and we talked about how, when the winds blow (i.e. hard times and temptations), only those with deep roots will stand tall and strong. Then Merritt took the doodle board and said, "What about this?" And he drew the sturdy tree's roots reaching out and grabbing hold of the roots of the tree that was struggling. "We can do this, right?" he asked. I wanted to weep. We can do that! We should want to do that! I'm grateful that Merritt intuitively understood the principle found in D&C 81:5: "Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." I'm grateful for children who teach me, who are small sowers of gospel truths in my life. I'm grateful we can reach out and help one another when hard times come. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have every day to make the soil of my heart a place where the words of Christ can take root and grow.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Bobcat Teeth and Random News

Merritt was awarded his Bobcat badge last night. He earned it a month ago, but was sick on the night of pack meeting and so missed the awards ceremony. It's all good, though, this month is as good as last...especially since he got bobcat teeth. His den leader presented him with the teeth...

which he then used to grab his badge out of my hand. It was supposed to demonstrate the perserverance he had shown in getting his badge, and the determination he would need to finish his Wolf badge requirements, but I don't think he got that out of the ceremony....he was just excited to have Bobcat/vampire teeth to wear all night long. Now he wants to be a vampire for Halloween...sigh!
I really didn't know much about the scouting program before I was called to serve in the Webelos den three years ago, and I am so grateful to have had this calling as it has prepared me to be excited for Merritt to start Scouts, and to help him properly. It really is a neat program!

In other news, I was at the doctor today and she said at the end of our visit, "I'll see you in two weeks." Huh? Are we really to that point? Hooray! Of course my next visit includes the dreaded glucose test, but not for nothing have I given up sugar! I shall pass with flying colors!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Night We All Became Fire Breathing Dragons

I love mystery dinner night...I dearly do. Sometimes, however, it yields interesting results. I found a recipe on the Pioneer Woman Cooks for Corn Chowder with Green Chiles, and since we have weekly soup night, I thought it would be a fun one to try. The recipe contained an ingredient I had never used before...chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The dear Pioneer Woman described them as "smokey" in flavor so I didn't think twice about adding them in. Well, chipotle peppers are "smokey" if by "smokey" you mean smoke coming out of your ears or the smoke that follows fire breathing! Grant, of course, didn't try it - which was probably good because it would have put him off soup in particular and dinner in general for the rest of his life. Grace put the spoon in her mouth and pulled it right back out. Chad managed about 3 or 4 spoonfuls before he devoted himself exclusively to his bread. Merritt ate around 5 spoonfuls, which was amazing, but he also chugged three glasses of chocolate milk to do it. I was the only one who finished the bowl, and that was because A) I always feel the need to eat what I cook - especially when it is a disaster (am I punishing myself?), and B) this pregnancy has brought about a high tolerance for spicy food...go figure. The funny thing is that the soup would have been delicious without the "smokey" chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (even Chad agrees on this point). I think I'll give this soup a rest - let it fade into our memory for a bit - and then pull it out again and make it sans smoke.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Have your Ghost and Eat it Too

October is such a fun month for Family Home Evening Treats. Case in point...


These are "Boo Cups." Aren't they darling? They consist of crushed Oreos, chocolate pudding, more crushed Oreos, and then a whipped cream ghost with mini-chocolate chips for eyes. I just whipped up some cream, added powdered sugar and vanilla, then scooped the whole she-bang into a ziplock baggie, snipped a large-ish hole in one corner, and piped out my ghostie. Chad and the kids were impressed by the look, but they said they tasted even better. Sweet.












Yum! Ghosts are delicious!!