January

I haven't blogged anywhere since August. And I don't even feel guilty. Something had to go to make my life simpler. But I am going to try something in January-hopefully I will post close to everyday this month.

I frequently get stuck in making the same things for dinner over and over again. This January I am going to try something new-my goal is to not repeat a dinner once. 31 days of 31 new dinners. I hope I can do it. I am well aware that there are days when this might not be possible (you know, working full-time with two little ones and a husband who works more-than-full-time) but I am going to try my best.

So here's January 1st.

Pan Roasted Chicken with Potatoes from Cook's Country
(I am not the best at taking pictures...one day I will improve-when I have some time!)

INGREDIENTS
4 split bone-in chicken breasts
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2pounds red potatoes , cut into 1-inch wedges
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove , minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Pinch red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS
Making the Minutes Count: While the chicken browns, cut the potatoes.

1. Heat Oven: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Season and Brown Skin Side of Chicken: Pat chicken dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown chicken well on skin side, about 5 minutes.

3. Microwave Potatoes: While chicken browns, toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon of oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in microwave-safe bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until potatoes begin to soften, 5 to 10 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to toss potatoes halfway through.

4. Bake Chicken: Transfer chicken, skin side up, to baking dish and bake until thickest part registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Brown Potatoes: While chicken bakes, pour off any grease in skillet, add 1 more tablespoon oil, and return to medium heat until shimmering. Drain microwaved potatoes then add to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 10 minutes.

6. Make Drizzling Oil: Whisk remaining 3 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes together.

Drizzle oil over chicken and potatoes before serving.


My chicken breasts were huge so I used 2. We feed our family of four plus had enough chicken left over to make something else. I'm thinking maybe a pot pie for dinner tomorrow? That also meant my chicken took a lot more time to cook. I would suggest putting the chicken in a larger pan. I used a small pan and the oil kept popping into the oven. We had the smoke detector going off no less than 3 times. Yikes.

I liked it, though. The drizzling sauce was really good. (We cut the recipe by 1/3m, but it was still too much-I guess it depends on how many people you are serving). It will make it's way into the rotation after January.

A Frost Family First: Christmas Cards!

Well, I couldn't resist the lure of free Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I love the idea of sending out Christmas cards (after convincing myself that maybe I actually do have people to send them to) but never am able to or want to shell out the dough. So what ends up happening: No Christmas cards. Until this year!

Shutterfly has such a cute variety of Christmas Photo Cards that I don't know which ones I'll end up choosing. I just hope that I have a cute enough picture of the family to go with the designs...

Last Christmas, my brother-in-law and his wife made a photo wall calendar for my in-laws. It has been so fun to have up all year long. I've been wanting to make one for myself and have actually already started looking into them from Shutterfly's website. One of the options that I think is really fun is that you not only can put a reminder on the day like December 28 being "Andrew and Victoria's Anniversary" but could put a wedding picture with both of our beautiful faces on that space on the calendar!

I did do a birth announcement for Nathaniel using Shutterfly last year. They were fun to pass out and give to people. My work had it hanging on the teacher's lounge door for months. After I quit teaching and started staying home, someone in the school threw it in the garbage. A few months later, I went back to visit my 1st grade team and Lori, one of my co-workers, had dug it out of the trash and saved it because she thought it was a shame to throw a cute announcement away! The best part was sending a bit of our joy to people out on the east coast who weren't able to meet the boy. Next baby I'll be looking through the options of birth announcements again!

So anyway, I'm excited. If you want one let me know and I'll send you one because the Frost's are sending out Christmas invites compliments of Shutterfly. Thanks Shutterfly! Go check it out for yourself, but the deadline to apply is the 10th!

This is a really weird picture that does not do it justice. The spread that was actually in the Rachael Ray magazine (I know, two recipes in a row) was very pretty. This was kind of a fun dish to make, had lots of good stuff in it and was just different, which is nice sometimes.

This makes one pie pan full.

2/3 cup rice

3 Tbl olive oil

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

pepper

1 onion finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (I didn't have any when I made this, so I used pieces of tomato)

2 cloves garlic, finely hopped

One 10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 tsp finely chopped rosemary

salt

1 store-bought rotisserie chicken cut into cubes (I used cooked shredded chicken breast that I have stored in my freezer)

9 ounces cheddar cheese (2 1/4 cups)

1. Preheat the oven to 425. In a small saucepan, combine the rice with 1 1/3 cups water. Cover and simmer over med-high heat until water is absorbed. About 16 minutes. Let cool. (I cooked rice in the rice cooker earlier that morning and saved it for when I was making this recipe for dinner!)

2. Brush the sides of a 9-in pie pan with 1 Tbl olive oil. In a medium bowl, combine the cooled rice, parmesan cheese, egg and a pinch of pepper. Using lightly oiled fingers or a rubber spatula, press the rice mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Bake for 10 min. Set aside to cool.

3. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the remaining 2 Tbl olive oil over med heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring occassionally, until the vegetables are golden- 15-20 minutes. Stir in the spinach and rosemary, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 min. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Stir in the chicken and 1 cup of cheddar cheese..

4. Lower the oven to 375. Fill the crust with the chicken-vegetable filling, leaving a 1-inch border at the top of the crust. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 1/4 cups of cheddar cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 30 minutes.

Chicken Satay Noodle Soup

Rachael Ray says that this serves 4. Thinking it really did, I decided to just make it for the 4 servings and have Andrew and I eat it once for dinner and then once for lunch the next day as left overs. We've eaten it for dinner and I've eaten it twice for lunch and there is still TONS of soup left. So my advice is that if you don't have a large crowd to feed, half this recipe for sure!

That being said, this was kind of a fun and different kind of dinner. I would definitely not forget the toppings at the end (cilantro, peanuts, green onions and lime) since I felt like they totally made the meal.

Salt

1/2 lb whole wheat pasta

2 Tbl vegetable oil

3/4 lb chicken, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbl tamari (dark soy) *I used regular soy since I didn't have any

1/4 cup Thai red curry paste

2 Tbl tomato paste

6 cups chicken broth

One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced

1/2 head napa or savoy cabbage, shredded *I only had regular cabbage and it worked fine

1/2 cup apple joice

1 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

green onions thinly sliced

1 Tbl chopped cilantro

Lime wedges

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain

2. Meanwhile, in a soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and garlic and cook, stirring until the chicken is opaque, about 5 min. Transfer to a plate.

3. Add the peanut butter, tamari, curry paste and tomato paste to the pot and stir. Increase the heat to meduium-high and whisk in the chicken broth; add the ginger. Bring to a boil, then stir in the cabbage and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken to the pot and stir in the apple juice.

4. Divide the pasta among 4 bowls. Ladle the soup over the pasta. Top with the bean sprouts, peanuts, green onions and cilantro. serve with the lime wedges.

Broccoli Salad

So I've never actually posted on this blog...and it doesn't look like anyone else has used it for a while, but I made broccoli salad for Thanksgiving this year and Patrick and I loved it. I think other people did too so I thought I'd post it!

Sorry the picture is huge. I can't get it any smaller.

1 head broccoli
6 to 8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup raisins, optional
8 ounces sharp Cheddar, cut into very small chunks
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

I got this recipe from Paula Deen. Thanks Paula!

When I made it we actually put in more broccoli than it called for. We substituted craisins for the raisins, left out the tomatoes because my husband and I don't like them, and used less cheese than it called for. Also, we did not use all of the dressing.

When I've had this salad other places I've seen people put sunflower seeds or some kind of sliced nut (almonds maybe?) in it as well which is pretty good.

Enjoy!

Chutney Curried Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

No, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I've just been really, really bad at putting things on it. I have been cooking, just not taking pictures of what I make!

The name of this recipe would not have caught my eye and I would have moved on in my Crock Pot book. However, the picture in the book looked yummy and I did have a mango sitting in my fruit bowl that needed to be used. So I tried it and it was good! Andrew said it was fun. I'll be making it again. Plus, it's a crockpot dinner- I love those!

(I can't get this one to not be flipped sidways, sorry)

1 container (6-8 oz) plain low-fat yogurt
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper (I didn't have, so I used red pepper flakes)
4 bone in chicken breast halves, skin removed (2 lbs. about) (I used boneless skinless I think)
1 small onion, sliced
1/3 cup mango chutney (chop large pieces of mango if you don't have chutney)
1 Tbl. lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbl. cornstarch
2 Tbl. water
3 cups cooked linguini or lo mein noodles
Optional Toppings: chopped cilantro chopped peanuts, toasted coconut

1. Place yogurt in paper-towel-lined strainer over a bowl. Drain in refrigerator until serving time.

2. Combine curry powder, garlic salt and red pepper; sprinkle over chicken. Place onion in crock pot; top with chicken. Combine chutney, lime juice and garlic; spoon over chicken. Cover; cook on LOW 5 or 6 hours or on HIGH 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until chicken is tender.

3. With slotted spoon, transfer chicken to serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Turn crock pot cooker to High. Combine cornstartch with water until smooth. Stir into cooking liquid. Cover; cook 15 minutes or until thickened. Spoon sauce over chicken; serve over linguini. Top with thickened yogurt and garnish as desired.

Don't you wish your sister was cool like mine?

(First, make sure you sing the title like "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like mine?" Not even positive that's how it goes. But that's how I sing it.)

So my sister is amazing. She made this all by herself:



How cool is that? I love the color. Tiffany's blue. Here are some more shots.





Of course Elinor loves it. She thinks it's so cool. She walks around saying, "Courtney made me this. It's a cool kitchen."

She got the plans from knockoffwood.com. If you haven't heard of the site, she is a stay at home mom who couldn't afford all the awesome yet expensive furniture/kids stuff that she wanted. So she figured it out. She takes ideas from Pottery Barn and such and figures out how to make replicas (hence the knock off wood name). Then she posts the plans so others can make it. Here is the specific link for the kitchen:

http://www.knock-offwood.com/search/label/Grace%27s%20Playhouse%20Kitchen

Super cute! Here are some tips. She found IKEA coasters at a yard sale for the burners. The knobs for the oven are radio knobs from RadioShak. The handle for the oven is a cabinet pull from IKEA. The fridge handles are also from IKEA-they are towel racks! Courtney got the sink faucet from an RV shop (she gets a discount). The sink basin was a $2 D.I. bowl. Look around and be creative!

Here is my creative contribution to the project-felt food! I am still working on it. So far I have made one doughnut, five chocolate chip cookies, and four pieces of bread. Apparently we love carbs at our house. And yes, those few items really took me a long time. I'm still learning how to sew. And each of these foods had a pretty tricky element. Here is a link to get you started: http://www.onecraftyplace.com/2009/02/27/felt-food-tutorial-round-up/


Thanks Court! It's AWESOME!