Hello, all of you in the blogosphere that I have neglected. It's not really my fault; either I'm super busy or there's nothing interesting going on in my life.
Anyway, I just got back from a trip to Chattanooga for SETC. Yes, the dang convention has sucked me back in, but I went with the drama kids from Wando High School; and good times were had by all. Except for when myself and 2 other chaperones made a mad dash to the hotel to search all the rooms for missing costumes. For a one act that was going to go on in an hour.
For those of you who stayed at the Sheraton during the previous SETC in Chattanooga; you know who you are: there were basically twelve of us in one room. I really don't miss being a poor college student. We went to the City Diner! The hole in the wall that was attached to the Days Inn, the one that had food from literally every ethnicity and slices of cake the size of your head. I ate a mound of nachos, then ran around doing a Russian accent that I had learned in a workshop. It was a very productive weekend.
This past weekend, we were in Greenville, SC with the student council for Wando. Greenville was an absolute blast! Josh and I just walked around downtown, hung out at the Falls Park, got sunburned (and I didn't even care because I was just so happy for the warm weather) and went to the zoo. At the zoo, everyone was with children. And then there was us. Because we're basically children anyway. I love zoos.
So, St Patrick's day was yesterday, so we went to a Mexican restaurant, like you do on such an Irish holiday, and then ran over to the Carolina Ale house to try and watch the Kentucky game. It was a madhouse; people were screaming above us trying to get drinks, a drunk guy was poking Josh for not wearing green (I warned him...) So we gulped down our beers and headed back to the hotel to meet/rescue from the highschool dance, Di Anna, at the Blue Ridge Brewing Company where we ate.....wait for it...Irish Car Bomb Cheesecakes. You had to be 21 or over to even order them, because they did not cook out the alcohol. It was all there, believe me.
With us being so busy, I've hardly had time to cook; it's been Stouffer's lasagnas and crock pot beef stews for the past few weeks. So, Thursday, I had the time to cook Josh a wonderful home cooked meal. I made Chicken Creole with Chile Cream sauce. Here's a link:
http://www.campbellkitchen.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?recipeId=30&ref=%2fSearchRecipesResult.aspx%3fq%3dcreole%2bchicken%26filter%3d
So yummy, and full of spices and things that will set your mouth on fire!
Therein lies the problem.
Josh isn't a huge fan of spicy things, but I am, and I feel like the more I cook with spicy ingredients, the more he'll like them. Plus, I always felt that if I was the one cooking, I get to cook whatever I want and he just has to eat it.
He watched tentatively as I dumped a whole can of green chiles in the skillet, then dredged the chicken in a ton of spices. I just smiled and told him that he would be fine.
He didn't finish the meal, which never happens. The next morning, he sent me a text saying that the green chiles killed him. Oops. Then, walking around Greenville for the next morning afterward, he was still complaining about the chiles. Double oops.
Moral of the story is, he's so sweet to eat things that he doesn't like simply because I made it. I need to take him into consideration when planning meals. So, Josh, if you're reading this, I'm sorry, and you have banana pudding (your Nanny's recipe) on the way!
Showing posts with label Cooking Adventures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking Adventures. Show all posts
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Yummy, Healthy Things to Make During Gross Winter
Let me preface this by saying that I've fallen victim to the Pinterest Universe. I never thought that I would be sucked in, but it is chock full of neato ideas and crafty things and recipes. I'm also looking for something to occupy my time during the slow season at the hotel.
I found a homemade hummus made with cannellini beans and fresh cilantro. Because I've gorged myself on too many holiday treats, I'm craving healthy foods. Weird, I know!
This requires:
1 Can of Cannellini Beans
2 Tbsp. of Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. of Lemon Juice
1tsp. of Minced Garlic
1 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. of Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. Chopped fresh Cilantro
All you do is stick everything in a food processor until smooth. Really hard, I know. But this is so unbelievably yummy, and it tastes better than any store bought hummus I've had (sorry Sabra, I will always love you.) So, we have a tupperware thing of this that we pull out and use as a dip with pita chips or baby carrots, and we use it as a spread for sandwiches and turkey wraps. Yum!
For dinner that night, I made Pioneer Woman's Broccoli Cheese Soup. You can get the recipe here:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/11/broccoli-cheese-soup/
I've made this a few times, and I always divide the ingredients. There are only two of us, after all. But, I made a huge pot of it last night so that we would have many leftovers. Josh and I both took some for lunch today. And with today being 25 degrees, it is quite welcome.
While this simmered I whipped up some Corn Muffins with Ye Olde Jiffy Mix. Comfort food at its finest.
No TV or Movie updates, because I'm too cheap to go to the movies, and new episodes of my shows have been new. I'm seeing Girl with the Dragon Tattoo tomorrow, loved the book. We'll see how it goes!
I found a homemade hummus made with cannellini beans and fresh cilantro. Because I've gorged myself on too many holiday treats, I'm craving healthy foods. Weird, I know!
This requires:
1 Can of Cannellini Beans
2 Tbsp. of Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. of Lemon Juice
1tsp. of Minced Garlic
1 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. of Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. Chopped fresh Cilantro
All you do is stick everything in a food processor until smooth. Really hard, I know. But this is so unbelievably yummy, and it tastes better than any store bought hummus I've had (sorry Sabra, I will always love you.) So, we have a tupperware thing of this that we pull out and use as a dip with pita chips or baby carrots, and we use it as a spread for sandwiches and turkey wraps. Yum!
For dinner that night, I made Pioneer Woman's Broccoli Cheese Soup. You can get the recipe here:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/11/broccoli-cheese-soup/
I've made this a few times, and I always divide the ingredients. There are only two of us, after all. But, I made a huge pot of it last night so that we would have many leftovers. Josh and I both took some for lunch today. And with today being 25 degrees, it is quite welcome.
While this simmered I whipped up some Corn Muffins with Ye Olde Jiffy Mix. Comfort food at its finest.
No TV or Movie updates, because I'm too cheap to go to the movies, and new episodes of my shows have been new. I'm seeing Girl with the Dragon Tattoo tomorrow, loved the book. We'll see how it goes!
I Tend to Disappear During the Holidays
This has been quite a Christmas. So much so that it has caused me to hibernate into an abyss-like black hole, cutting all methods of communication. Now, we're forced back into the real world, into the bleak month of January. It's about this time that I hate winter. I really only like winter during Christmas. And even though winter in Charleston is about 50 degrees, I still don't like it. Not one bit.
Now to change the subject completely....
About a month ago, Josh and I made french fries. This endeavor started when we got into an argument about whether or not we needed a french fry cutter. This all started at a marching band competition when, at the funnel cake stand, a guy stuck a potato in a cutter, pulled the lever, and... voila! French fries.
But I digress.
I thought that if we just simply cut the potatoes into fry shape, then fry the fries, it would be the same darn thing. For those of you looking to fry things with the one you love, follow my steps:
1) Pour oil into a deep skillet and then heat up the thing until it looks like molten lava bubbling up. Go big or go home.
2) Let your husband lecture you on how much you burn yourself whilst making meals for him on a normal basis, so let him volunteer himself to take the reins and drop the fries into the magma.
3) Grab a bag of the frozen Gorton's beer battered cod and preheat the oven. When making fries, you really don't have that much effort to make anything else. Plus, fish and chips are a good combo, and this frozen fish was pretty dang good! I wouldn't have even gotten it, but it was on sale at Publix, and I had a coupon. That doubled. I'm cheap.
4) Keep watching Josh wince as he's dropping fries in and taking them out. He took them out when they started floating. Wait for his previous words to bite him in the butt.
5)Put the fish in the oven.
6)Get into an argument about how the Gorton's Fisherman jingle goes. Keep singing it until you're blue in the face.
7) Grab laptop and play the darn commercial on You Tube.
8) When proven the victor, do a dance called the "suck-it dance," whereby you prance around like a Tennessee Walking Horse, and move your arms in a Pee-Wee Herman, "Tequila"- like fashion.
9) Pop a fry in your mouth, then scream about how hot it is.
10) Disregard what you just did and stick another one in your mouth.
11) Console an upset Josh because hot oil has splashed on to his hand, causing a really gross, painful looking burn. Stick his hand under cool running water.
12) Finish the job.
13) Rejoice in homemade fries and home-heated up fish.
There you have it! A sure-fire way to make fries cheaper than it is to buy them.
Now to change the subject completely....
About a month ago, Josh and I made french fries. This endeavor started when we got into an argument about whether or not we needed a french fry cutter. This all started at a marching band competition when, at the funnel cake stand, a guy stuck a potato in a cutter, pulled the lever, and... voila! French fries.
But I digress.
I thought that if we just simply cut the potatoes into fry shape, then fry the fries, it would be the same darn thing. For those of you looking to fry things with the one you love, follow my steps:
1) Pour oil into a deep skillet and then heat up the thing until it looks like molten lava bubbling up. Go big or go home.
2) Let your husband lecture you on how much you burn yourself whilst making meals for him on a normal basis, so let him volunteer himself to take the reins and drop the fries into the magma.
3) Grab a bag of the frozen Gorton's beer battered cod and preheat the oven. When making fries, you really don't have that much effort to make anything else. Plus, fish and chips are a good combo, and this frozen fish was pretty dang good! I wouldn't have even gotten it, but it was on sale at Publix, and I had a coupon. That doubled. I'm cheap.
4) Keep watching Josh wince as he's dropping fries in and taking them out. He took them out when they started floating. Wait for his previous words to bite him in the butt.
5)Put the fish in the oven.
6)Get into an argument about how the Gorton's Fisherman jingle goes. Keep singing it until you're blue in the face.
7) Grab laptop and play the darn commercial on You Tube.
8) When proven the victor, do a dance called the "suck-it dance," whereby you prance around like a Tennessee Walking Horse, and move your arms in a Pee-Wee Herman, "Tequila"- like fashion.
9) Pop a fry in your mouth, then scream about how hot it is.
10) Disregard what you just did and stick another one in your mouth.
11) Console an upset Josh because hot oil has splashed on to his hand, causing a really gross, painful looking burn. Stick his hand under cool running water.
12) Finish the job.
13) Rejoice in homemade fries and home-heated up fish.
There you have it! A sure-fire way to make fries cheaper than it is to buy them.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Dinner is Sad When Waiting for Your Husband to Get Home
Alright, this week has been a really busy week for Joshua, so that means that when I cook dinner, I either eat alone on the couch or wait until after 10:30 at night to eat.
But, hey, that's no reason not to cook!
Wednesday, I decided to make a casserole because I didn't like the quality of the chicken breasts that I got. So I couldn't just eat them alone. Blech. I decided to shred them into a casserole. Crisis averted!
I put chicken at the bottom of my casserole dish, then I added orange juice (fresh squeezed. Not trying to act high faluting, I only had oranges in my fridge,) brown sugar, and melted butter. Then I got really lazy and put pre made stove top stuffing on top. It was good, but next time I need more salt or something. Too sweet!
Live and Learn. Onward!
Last night I made a pulled pork chili. It's bascially exactly like regular chili, but it has pulled pork instead of ground beef. (Ground beef turns my stomach. I'm like a little kid!) Just let it simmer in the crock pot all day. Yum! Josh is at a band competition all day, so this will be my dinner tonight, too!
Saturday Night Live is coming on tonight...yay!
But, hey, that's no reason not to cook!
Wednesday, I decided to make a casserole because I didn't like the quality of the chicken breasts that I got. So I couldn't just eat them alone. Blech. I decided to shred them into a casserole. Crisis averted!
I put chicken at the bottom of my casserole dish, then I added orange juice (fresh squeezed. Not trying to act high faluting, I only had oranges in my fridge,) brown sugar, and melted butter. Then I got really lazy and put pre made stove top stuffing on top. It was good, but next time I need more salt or something. Too sweet!
Live and Learn. Onward!
Last night I made a pulled pork chili. It's bascially exactly like regular chili, but it has pulled pork instead of ground beef. (Ground beef turns my stomach. I'm like a little kid!) Just let it simmer in the crock pot all day. Yum! Josh is at a band competition all day, so this will be my dinner tonight, too!
Saturday Night Live is coming on tonight...yay!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Never Send a Man to do a Woman's Job
I never thought that grocery shopping was a skill. Ever. Maybe that's because my mom was so good at it, and I learned from her.
I've included that preface, to make my story clearer. Ahem.
Last night, I took a look around my freezer, and I saw that I had chicken, and some Al Fresco chicken sausage that I got on sale at Publix and I really wanted to try. I looked online, and came across this cajun alfredo skillet thing, with all of the ingredients that I had on hand. Except for few.
Josh and I have been doing Financial Peace University, and one of the things we've done is use the envelope system for all of our spending money needs. I am the keeper of said envelopes because Josh doesn't want such responsibility.
All we needed was some milk, so I asked Josh to get some on the way home. He reminded me that I had the envelopes, but he could stop by and get them and run out to Bi-Lo.
Since he was going out for milk, I asked him to pick up some Cajun seasoning. Normally I just mix up a cajun seasoning myself, but since he was going out...why not? I also needed some Philadelphia cooking creme. Original. I needed him to pick some up because I realized that I only had the Italian one.
3 ingredients. Simple, right? He called me 2 times. For 3 ingredients. He couldn't fathom that cooking creme existed. I think he thought that I was an idiot and meant cream cheese. Yes, they are in the same section, but they are not the same thing. I told him to ask an employee. He agreed and hung up.
Not two minutes later, he called asking me if he could get creole seasoning instead of cajun seasoning. And then told me that he still hadn't found the cooking creme. I asked him if he found an employee. He said no. He hadn't even asked. For those of you who know Josh, you shouldn't be surprised. He will not ask anyone for help!
After asking someone for help (which was proceeded by a lot of fussing from me), he found it. It was right next to the cream cheese, where he was looking. He said that I told him the wrong color of the tub, so it was my fault.
Now, I didn't write this to rag on Josh, but to rag on all men. One of the most infamous stories about my father was when he bought us Happy Meals from McDonald's when it was buy one get one free. He ordered 3 Happy Meals, because he had 3 children. When the cashier told him that he could get one more free, he declined, because he only needed 3.
Right?
My mom berated him when he got home, because we could have had a free Happy Meal!
That was 10 years ago. Never forgotten.
Dinner ended up being delicious, by the way. I'll do the shopping from now on.
I've included that preface, to make my story clearer. Ahem.
Last night, I took a look around my freezer, and I saw that I had chicken, and some Al Fresco chicken sausage that I got on sale at Publix and I really wanted to try. I looked online, and came across this cajun alfredo skillet thing, with all of the ingredients that I had on hand. Except for few.
Josh and I have been doing Financial Peace University, and one of the things we've done is use the envelope system for all of our spending money needs. I am the keeper of said envelopes because Josh doesn't want such responsibility.
All we needed was some milk, so I asked Josh to get some on the way home. He reminded me that I had the envelopes, but he could stop by and get them and run out to Bi-Lo.
Since he was going out for milk, I asked him to pick up some Cajun seasoning. Normally I just mix up a cajun seasoning myself, but since he was going out...why not? I also needed some Philadelphia cooking creme. Original. I needed him to pick some up because I realized that I only had the Italian one.
3 ingredients. Simple, right? He called me 2 times. For 3 ingredients. He couldn't fathom that cooking creme existed. I think he thought that I was an idiot and meant cream cheese. Yes, they are in the same section, but they are not the same thing. I told him to ask an employee. He agreed and hung up.
Not two minutes later, he called asking me if he could get creole seasoning instead of cajun seasoning. And then told me that he still hadn't found the cooking creme. I asked him if he found an employee. He said no. He hadn't even asked. For those of you who know Josh, you shouldn't be surprised. He will not ask anyone for help!
After asking someone for help (which was proceeded by a lot of fussing from me), he found it. It was right next to the cream cheese, where he was looking. He said that I told him the wrong color of the tub, so it was my fault.
Now, I didn't write this to rag on Josh, but to rag on all men. One of the most infamous stories about my father was when he bought us Happy Meals from McDonald's when it was buy one get one free. He ordered 3 Happy Meals, because he had 3 children. When the cashier told him that he could get one more free, he declined, because he only needed 3.
Right?
My mom berated him when he got home, because we could have had a free Happy Meal!
That was 10 years ago. Never forgotten.
Dinner ended up being delicious, by the way. I'll do the shopping from now on.
Friday, September 9, 2011
When Life Gives You Bananas...
For some reason, this was just a hard week! So, I figured, why pay for therapy when I can just eat a cake?
Well, first I thought, I have these bananas that are about to go bad, and I need to do something with them stat! And I didn't want to eat them. They had spots. I'm picky. So, I pulled out my faithful yellow cake mix, which you can do anything with, that I stock up on whenever they're on sale and I have coupons. I took the mashed bananas, the cake mix, 3 eggs, 1/4 cup oil, and a 8 oz thing of sour cream.
It was so yummy, and Josh told me that it is the best cake he's ever had. Who would have thought it was all because I was depressed and had old fruit?
I would have posted a picture, but it really just looks like a sheet cake. And I am terrible at frosting. It looks like an 8 year old did it. But, it's the taste that counts! And it's delicious....
On to TV........Kalia is gone from Big Brother!!! Karma!!!
Ahem.
Jordan is also gone, whom I absolutely love, but I did keep thinking that she has already won half a million dollars in a previous season. Now it's down to 3: Adam, Rachel, and Porsche. Holy cow!! I'm gonna go crazy during the finale!
Well, first I thought, I have these bananas that are about to go bad, and I need to do something with them stat! And I didn't want to eat them. They had spots. I'm picky. So, I pulled out my faithful yellow cake mix, which you can do anything with, that I stock up on whenever they're on sale and I have coupons. I took the mashed bananas, the cake mix, 3 eggs, 1/4 cup oil, and a 8 oz thing of sour cream.
It was so yummy, and Josh told me that it is the best cake he's ever had. Who would have thought it was all because I was depressed and had old fruit?
I would have posted a picture, but it really just looks like a sheet cake. And I am terrible at frosting. It looks like an 8 year old did it. But, it's the taste that counts! And it's delicious....
On to TV........Kalia is gone from Big Brother!!! Karma!!!
Ahem.
Jordan is also gone, whom I absolutely love, but I did keep thinking that she has already won half a million dollars in a previous season. Now it's down to 3: Adam, Rachel, and Porsche. Holy cow!! I'm gonna go crazy during the finale!
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Weekend!
So very much has happened this weekend! I have to get my mind in order!
Ahem.
First of all, I got to spend all weekend with my beautiful sister, who is single and ready to mingle, by the way! She enjoys long moonlit walks on the beach, cuddling in front of the fireplace....and if I say any more she will probably kill me. She'll probably kill me for this post anyway.
Soo..... first things first. Did you SEE Big Brother?! Holy cow! Rachel won the power of veto, so she and Jordan are safe this week. Yahoo! So, Adam and Shelley were put on the block, and Shelley got sent home. Quelle surprise. I was so happy, and now Kalia and Porsche are shaking in their boots because the power doesn't belong to them anymore. And last Big Brother showed, it looked like Rachel was going to win Head of Household. It just can't get any better. And yes, I know that Jordan won the money in her previous season, but I just love her so much, and I don't want Kalia or Porsche to win AT ALL! Phew. This show is going to make me have a nervous breakdown one day.
So, Emily came in Friday evening, and I saw Boston Butt pork roast on sale at Bi-Lo. I've done BBQ pork through the crock pot many times, so I figured that this would be an easy meal to have on hand after Wando's football game.
Well, Bi-Lo didn't tell me that it was basically the torso of a pig. It had bones and tendons and muscles and veins and a TON of blood. I am extremely squeamish, and I hate bones. And this is a huge torso of pig, and it barely fits in said crock pot. So, after about four hours of cooking on high, I brilliantly decide to cut it in chunks, so that the pig will fit, and the lid will stay on. Now, mind you, I am hacking and sawing into this pork, and I'm gagging the whole time. I'm alone in the kitchen, watching muscles tear, blood squirt, and I'm hitting bone the whole time. So I start crying. I am now gagging and crying whilst cutting this pork roast in half. I hope my family knows the sacrifice I've made for them.
After, when my kitchen looked like a slaughterhouse, I decided to wash all of the gore off of me and take a shower.
Just hours later, here is what dinner looked like:
Ahem.
First of all, I got to spend all weekend with my beautiful sister, who is single and ready to mingle, by the way! She enjoys long moonlit walks on the beach, cuddling in front of the fireplace....and if I say any more she will probably kill me. She'll probably kill me for this post anyway.
Soo..... first things first. Did you SEE Big Brother?! Holy cow! Rachel won the power of veto, so she and Jordan are safe this week. Yahoo! So, Adam and Shelley were put on the block, and Shelley got sent home. Quelle surprise. I was so happy, and now Kalia and Porsche are shaking in their boots because the power doesn't belong to them anymore. And last Big Brother showed, it looked like Rachel was going to win Head of Household. It just can't get any better. And yes, I know that Jordan won the money in her previous season, but I just love her so much, and I don't want Kalia or Porsche to win AT ALL! Phew. This show is going to make me have a nervous breakdown one day.
So, Emily came in Friday evening, and I saw Boston Butt pork roast on sale at Bi-Lo. I've done BBQ pork through the crock pot many times, so I figured that this would be an easy meal to have on hand after Wando's football game.
Well, Bi-Lo didn't tell me that it was basically the torso of a pig. It had bones and tendons and muscles and veins and a TON of blood. I am extremely squeamish, and I hate bones. And this is a huge torso of pig, and it barely fits in said crock pot. So, after about four hours of cooking on high, I brilliantly decide to cut it in chunks, so that the pig will fit, and the lid will stay on. Now, mind you, I am hacking and sawing into this pork, and I'm gagging the whole time. I'm alone in the kitchen, watching muscles tear, blood squirt, and I'm hitting bone the whole time. So I start crying. I am now gagging and crying whilst cutting this pork roast in half. I hope my family knows the sacrifice I've made for them.
After, when my kitchen looked like a slaughterhouse, I decided to wash all of the gore off of me and take a shower.
Just hours later, here is what dinner looked like:
Nom Nom Nom. It was so scrumptious, and I love topping BBQ sandwiches with coleslaw.
In short, dear pig, thank you for letting me hack into your torso so that we could have a delicious, tasty dinner. The gagging was worth it.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Humpday TV!
I love this little show. I think it is so funny, and Betty White is hysterical. Like that needs saying. Last night showed the season2 finale, the day of Elka's wedding. It was a take off of The Hangover, with the girls trying to figure out what happened during and after Elka's wedding. Joy (Jane Leeves) and Victoria (Wendy Malick) woke up with huge 60's beehive wigs and wedding bands, and Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli) was duct taped to the wall. While trying to figure out what happened the night before, Elka is trying to look for a sign from her late husband okaying her new marriage. After finding out about all of the tomfoolery, (I don't want to give anything away) Elka and Fred (Buck Henry) meet up in the cemetary where both of their spouses are buried. They take this as a sign and proceed with the wedding. As Elka walks down the aisle, geriatric men keep trying to stop her so that she would marry them. Can you blame them?! She's Betty White!! Max, played by Carl Reiner, and Elka's fiance from last season, runs in at the last minute, which I totally saw coming, but then another man runs in, who claims to be Elka's dead husband, Bob. Cliffhanger! This show is so funny; and it's a great way to get my sitcom fix whilst all of my other shows are on hiatus during the summer.
Big Brother
So, the duo twist made me so very happy, but I always knew that there was a chance that Rachel or Jordan might not win the power of Veto. However, I was so pleased to see Rachel win, which took both her and Jordan off of the block. During the power of veto challenge, all competitors had to wrap themselves around a dummy of their old partner. It was pretty funny to see people sliding down these dummies. And then Kalia farted. She said that she didn't, but she did. That's the beauty of reality TV. Cameras don't lie. And, yes, maybe some sound editing was involved, but it doesn't matter. Everyone heard it! So, Rachel clung on to dear life to her her fiance, Brendan with her vice grip legs. Did she mention yet that she had a fiance? She won the veto for both herself and Jordan, and now Adam and Shelley are going on the block. These two have skated by this whole season without winning competitions, and it makes me sick! It's about dang time!
Changing gears completely, to the food front, there really hasn't been anything going on. I seared some fish and heated up green giant veggies for dinner last night, and cooked up a Bertoli meal tonight. Don't hate, stock up on these meals whenever they're on sale! They are perfect for when you just don't want to cook!
Anybody else cook (or watch) anything interesting?
Monday, August 29, 2011
Porkchops and Applesauce....and ruined pudding
For those of you who don't know, Josh and I attend church at the night service. Our church is massive, so it's nice to be able to worship in an intimate (well, as intimate as you can get for a mega church) setting. That being said, I always have this need to cook after church, and I like to cook meals that take forever. We normally end up eating around 10 PM. I understand the folly in this, but when I have a bag of grits calling my name, I will cook them. Even if it takes an hour and a half.
Then, I made pork chops (because I knew that they are one of Josh's favorites) with an apple concoction. I cooked the apples in apple cider vinegar and white wine until it reduced, then I poured in maple syrup, then threw the pork chops back in with the apples and let it simmer for 20 minutes. The pork didn't need a knife! I got both of these recipes from thepioneerwoman.com, and I honestly haven't had a bad dish yet from her. And now that she has a Food Network Show, I am ecstatic!
Now comes to the part of the tale that is sad. I also attempted a banana pudding dish that I saw on the diet section of the Kraft recipe website. Since I ate my weight in cheese grits, I thought I should at least top it with fat free Cool Whip. I sacrifice so much. I followed that darn recipe to a tee, and it turned out awful. Well, not awful, necessarily. The top pudding layer never became pudding. It remained a liquid. I put it in the fridge for 3 hours. And then I gave up and left it in there overnight, thinking it could be breakfast! (don't judge. I love pudding.)
Here is what I woke up to this morning:
Oh, the Humanity! Grits simmered for a few hours with bacon and onions, and then a pile of cheese dunked in! And the picture is blurry because of the steam. It was oh so tasty!
Then, I made pork chops (because I knew that they are one of Josh's favorites) with an apple concoction. I cooked the apples in apple cider vinegar and white wine until it reduced, then I poured in maple syrup, then threw the pork chops back in with the apples and let it simmer for 20 minutes. The pork didn't need a knife! I got both of these recipes from thepioneerwoman.com, and I honestly haven't had a bad dish yet from her. And now that she has a Food Network Show, I am ecstatic!
This is my plate halfway through the meal. Now normally I hate hate hate my food touching, but I actually kept dunking my grits in that maple/apple sauce! Josh thought I was being a dork, but talk about a mixture of sweet and savory! Plus, I put a ton of tabasco in the cheese grits.... and Josh never said a word....
Now comes to the part of the tale that is sad. I also attempted a banana pudding dish that I saw on the diet section of the Kraft recipe website. Since I ate my weight in cheese grits, I thought I should at least top it with fat free Cool Whip. I sacrifice so much. I followed that darn recipe to a tee, and it turned out awful. Well, not awful, necessarily. The top pudding layer never became pudding. It remained a liquid. I put it in the fridge for 3 hours. And then I gave up and left it in there overnight, thinking it could be breakfast! (don't judge. I love pudding.)
Here is what I woke up to this morning:
(sob!) It is still liquid. Still. And now the bananas are floating in the sad pudding liquid. But, if you turn your attention to the bottom right corner. I still have leftover grits! Yippee!
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