First Day on the Job

So, today was my first attempt at being a (pt)SAHM (I'm working part-time for the summer, which means I'm pretty much at home on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays). I actually started the new schedule two weeks ago, but because Phil had a few days off of work during that time and then CJ was sick for a couple days, today was the first REAL day at home.

Let me tell ya, I think I'm more exhausted from a day at home than I am after a day of work! If you could indulge me, I would like to share with you what we did today. Please feel free to let me know if what we did/didn't accomplish is reasonable. I'm new at this and not sure how to balance my time...and I'm not sure what a practical pace is.

So, today's events:
1. Early morning trip to the dentist (for me, CJ sat quietly and watched)
2. Came home and made a batch of pumpkin muffins (recipe follows, after all this blog is supposed to be about recipes)
3. Ate breakfast/muffins
4. Took CJ and one of his friends to the bank, where we cashed in $111 worth of coins. Isn't that cool?
5. Gas/Car wash (thanks to the newly received cash)
6. Let CJ play with friends
7. Oh yeah, in the midst of this, stripped the beds, washed the sheets and did 4 additional loads of laundry
8. Lunch with Phil and CJ
9. After lunch, while CJ practiced math on the computer (www.funbrain.com), I read a little on my book, "The Thirteenth Tale" (continued laundry)
10. Made a big ol' batch of meat sauce (to be used in multiple recipes...lasagna rolls, tostadas, chili)
11. Took CJ to swimming lessons at the Y, worked out briefly.
12. Went to yoga class...instructor didn't show.
13. Made dinner (lasagna rolls) and headed to CJ's baseball game
14. Game was rained out...led to time for blogging. :)

That's it, so far.

So, to the recipe. I've kind of been on a muffin kick lately. Last week, I made crumb-topped banana muffins from www.allrecipes.com. I'll post that recipe next. It was great!

Today, we made pumpkin muffins, not particularly in season, I know, but we still had some in the pantry. I found this recipe on two of my very favorite blogs: www.smittenkitchen.com and www.dineanddish.com. I figured they had to be good...and they were!

Pumpkin Muffins
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 can (15 oz) canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 c. vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I subbed cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg)
1 1/4 c. + 1 TB sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put liners in 12 muffin cups.

In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Then, whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir together 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1 TB sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter amoung muffin cups (I filled 12 and had a little extra), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golder brown and a toothpick or skewer insterted into the middle comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool.

Eat and enjoy!

Menu Planning Mania

As mentioned previously, one of my goals for this new year was to do a better job planning menus and grocery shopping on the weekends. Well, so far, so good. For five weeks, I've been grocery shopping on Saturday mornings. Even though I spend a chunk of time either Friday evening or Saturday morning planning our menu and preparing the list, it's worth it to not be worrying about it on Sunday evenings!

I'm not a picky eater, per se, but I am typically rather particular about what I eat. I like to be "in the mood" for things. Well, one thing I've had to learn through this, in order to not waste food, is to stick to my plan, even when it doesn't fit with the particular cravings I may have. This has been good for me!

So, without further adieu, I'm going to list my menus for the past few weeks. (Sides may or may not be included...depends on my memory.) If you want any of the recipes, let me know and I will post them. I'll share a few in the coming days, when I start to tackle another resolution...updating this blog more frequently.

Week 1
Mon. - sandwiches, chips, oranges
Tues. - mac & tomatoes (C's favorite thing), grilled cheese
Wed. - sesame chicken & broccoli, rice, pineapple
Thurs. - breakfast for dinner (waffles, bacon, eggs)
Fri. - hot dogs, homemade mac & cheese
Sat. - lasagna Rolls, salad, bread, triple layer brownies

Week 2
Mon. - tomato soup & grilled cheese
Tues. - chicken and dumplings, apples
Wed. - leftovers
Thurs. - Italian wedding soup
Fri. - tostadas
Sat. - dinner out

Week 3
Sun. - baked spaghetti
Mon. - red beans & rice, bread
Tues. - leftovers
Wed. - bbq meatballs, smashed potatoes, glazed carrots
Thurs. - ordered pizza (I cheated this night)
Fri. - chicken enchilada soup
Sat. - brisket, roasted potatoes, green beans, apple crostata

Week 4
Sun. - leftovers
Mon. - YH event (my work)
Tues. - paninis with leftover brisket & cheese, sweet potato fries
Wed. - breakfast for dinner
Thurs. - meatball subs, broccoli slaw, chips
Fri. - chicken & wild rice soup, fruit smoothies
Sat. - sandwiches, chips, fruit

Week 5
Sun. - white chicken chili, cornbread
Mon. - spaghetti, bread
Tues. - sandwiches, chips, apples
Wed. - homemade tomato soup, grilled cheese
Thurs. - crispy apricot pork chops, red potatoes, salad
Fri. - chicken stir-fry wraps, rice, pineapple
Sat. - biscuits & gravy (breakfast)

A few things to note about my menu...Phil and C are responsible for Monday nights, because I work late. Thus, that evening is usually something easy. I also realized as I type that there are only a few nights a week where cooking anything more complicated is an option. Most nights we need fast meals, either because we've got somewhere else to be or because we are eating later in the evening. All that to say, it's working for us...and hopefully, it continues to. I'm a little stuck for the next week's menu and always appreciate suggestions.

What Santa brought

Even though I really didn't need anything else for the kitchen for Christmas, I got something, and it was just what I wanted...a Le Crueset Dutch Oven, a red one, no less. My husband had begun mentioning building some kind of elaborate shelving in our garage to hold my ever-growing supply of kitchen "stuff". Because of this, I didn't even ask for anything for the kitchen this Christmas. Of course, my mom picked up on the fact that I wanted one of these beauties when I kept entering online contests to win one. At least now I can stop entering the contests.

Now, I need to know what to cook in it. I mean, I know I can cook everything in it, but what do I start with? My brother got one too, and he's going to cook short ribs. I'm not quite that adventurous. Maybe a good slow cooked chili, or Coq a Vin (the recipe I was supposed to cook for Barefoot Bloggers this month), or fried chicken. I'm leaning towards soup, just because that always sounds good this time of year, but if you have suggestions, please send them my way!

Happy New Year.

Christmas baking and candy-making

This past Saturday, we had a big baking day at our house! We love to make treats for Christmas and give them away to friends. Usually we'll make caramels, fudge, dipped pretzels, covered pecans, pumpkin bread and then a new recipe or two. This year, I had visions of beautiful gingerbread people that we would ice with little white eyes and white buttons. Instead, this is what they looked like...

Maybe that's not exactly what I was imagining, but it was still fun! (But, we haven't eaten any of them yet.)

Mexican Chicken Soup

Last night brought about a new resolution that I need to make in the new year. It does not work for me to get off of work at 5pm, go to the grocery store and do my shopping and then come home and make dinner. Well, it does work, but it doesn't get dinner on the table anytime before 7:30pm. And, then it feels like I've spent the whole evening on dinner.

Perhaps you would suggest that I find recipes that don't take quite so long. That would certainly be one solution and one that I like quite a lot and will definitely consider on non-Barefoot Contessa-cooking-nights. Leaving the grocery store last night, though (after waiting quite a while on the meat department to locate bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts) I decided that once January 1st rolls around, I need to do my grocery shopping on Saturday! Wish me luck.

Here's the recipe for last night's Barefoot Bloggers recipe. This soup was really tasty and was not all that complicated...don't know why it took me quite so long to make it.


Ingredients
4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional
6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas


Directions
For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.

Barefoot Bloggers, take two (and three)

So, joining Barefoot Bloggers has revealed even more my tendency toward procratination...even with things I enjoy, like cooking. Last month's recipes were for Herb Roasted Onions and Mexican Chicken Soup, to be posted on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, respectively. Well, I made the Herb Roasted Onions on the 2nd Thursday of the month, and they were good. Even halving the recipe still made far too many onions for our family of three. I served them with pan-fried pork chops and sauteed apples. The vinagrette on the onions is especially tasty. My big discovery with this recipe was that I really like fresh thyme (and added the leftover herb to a few of our Thanksgiving dishes). My other discovery was that onions can discolor baking sheets. It was a fun and different side dish. Click on the link to find the recipe. Notice that although I made the dish on the 2nd Thursday, it's taken my far longer to post about my results.

Recipe #2 Mexican Chicken Soup is on the menu for tonight...a little late for that 4th Thursday deadline. Oops. My plans had been to make it a couple nights before Thanksgiving, but my grocery list was so long, and my cooking plans for the next few days so extensive, that we decided a meal out was in order. So, the Mexican Chicken Soup had to wait. (It didn't help that I made Chicken Enchilada Soup and White Chicken Chili earlier in that very same week.)

Also, I have abandoned food photography. My pictures don't begin to do justice to the dish. If you go to Barefoot Bloggers, you can find many photos and ideas about these recipes from my fellow Barefoot Contessa fans.

Apple Oatmeal

Here's a great breakfast dish I tried this week. It's kind of like hot oatmeal applesauce. I divided the recipe in half and it turned out great for my family.

Recipe for Apple Oatmeal

This is a delicious as breakfast alone or as a breakfast side dish.

8 apples, peeled and sliced (pippin, roma, jonathans – the sweet and juicier the better)
2 cups of old fashioned oatmeal (not the quick oats)
1 cup of sugar
½ cup of butter
1 tsp cinnamon’
allspice – just a dash

Put in the order above in a crock pot. DO NOT STIR.
Cook on low overnight.
Just before serving, give it a good stir. It will be a dark brown cinnamon color.

Will serve about 8 people, pretty generously.