I embarrass my husband.

My character flaws and their ability to make Paul a little uncomfortable would be a blog post on it's own. Today I think Paul's embarrassed by my recent frequent recipe posts. Last night I made another scrumptious first-time recipe. After my first bite I jumped up and said "I need to take a picture. This is blog-worthy." Paul told me it wasn't and that it was just a random meal. Random, yes. But totally blog-worthy, which he later conceded. Look folks, I'm not claiming to be a chef, but I do appreciate coming across a fabulous new recipe and perhaps someone else can benefit from my trial and error. So, although I do not have a picture of last night's dinner (you can thank my sweet husband for that), I'm going to share the recipe because it was good. So good, in fact, that Paul let a "slap yo' mama" escape his lips. But don't thank me for this recipe, thank our friend Martha. This is the picture from her website:


Chipotle Chicken and Rice

Ingredients
Makes 4 servings

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)[I used breasts]
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
2 large tomatoes, diced large
1 cup long-grain white rice
Lime wedges, for serving
Chopped cilantro leaves, for serving (optional)



Directions
1.In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken on both sides with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Working in batches, brown chicken on both sides, about 6 minutes total; transfer to a plate.
2.Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot (if necessary, add a bit of water to release browned bits).
3.Add garlic, cumin, and chiles; cook until garlic is soft and fragrant, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until tomatoes begin to break down and release their juices, 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup water and return chicken and any accumulated juices to pot. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook 25 minutes.
4.Remove several pieces of chicken and stir in rice, making sure it is completely submerged in liquid. Replace chicken, cover, and cook until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes more. Serve with lime wedges and cilantro if desired.
5.Quesadilla variation: To make a filling for quesadillas, cut chicken into bite-size pieces before cooking and omit the water and rice. Then simmer, uncovered (cooking time is the same).

I made the quesadilla variation. Here's another Martha picture.


Enjoy.

Another success

Last night I had another pleasing experience with a new recipe from my new cookbook. Paul was particularly delighted by the dish, and I have to say, I'm kinda looking forward to eating it again myself.


Cook and Freeze
Spice-Rubbed Chicken

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. paprika
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
16 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 5 lbs.)
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

Directions
1. For spice rub, in small bowl combine brown sugar, paprika, salt, coriander, black pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Brush chicken with oil. Sprinkle chicken with spice rub on both sides. With fingers, gently rub in spice mixture. Arrange on two 15x10x1-inch baking pans. Refrigerate chicken for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Bake chicken breasts, one pan at a time, uncovered, for 18 to 20 minutes or until no longer pink (170°F). (Refrigerate second pan of chicken, covered, while baking the first pan.)

3. Let chicken stand 30 minutes to cool. Individually wrap chicken breasts in waxed paper. Divide wrapped chicken among two large freezer bags, removing as much air as possible from bags. Label and freeze up to 4 months. Thaw and use for Chicken Noodle Toss with Greens, or other recipes.

4. Quick Thaw: Thaw in the microwave at 30% power (medium-low) for 4 to 5 minutes for one chicken breast, turning once. Increase time by 3 to 4 minutes for each additional chicken breast. Makes 16 chicken breasts.


Thaw and Remake
Chicken-Noodle Toss with Greens

Ingredients
4 cups water
6 oz. medium rice sticks (noodles)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Sweet Spice-Rubbed Chicken breast halves, thawed and sliced
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 medium green onion, sliced
1 cup arugula leaves
1/2 cup packed basil leaves
1/4 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions
1. Bring water to boiling. Place noodles in large bowl. Add boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

2. In large skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice, soy sauce, and green onion. Transfer to noodles in bowl. Add arugula, basil, and cilantro to noodles. Toss to combine. Sprinkle crushed red pepper. Makes 4 servings.

My man's got skillz

On Saturday we were privileged to participate in celebrating our sweet niece's 1st birthday.

The birthday girl is the daughter of Paul's brother, Mark, and his wife, Crystal. Our gift to Haley was her birthday cake, crafted by none other than my talented husband, Paul. This cake is a tradition in my family, and now it's making it's way over to the Rogers clan. My mom made the bear cake for me and my siblings on our first birthdays. Here is my first birthday cake:
I meant business:

So, Paul has now made the cake for our two boys and on Saturday, he once again prepared a special pink muzzled bear for Little Miss Haley.
He claims this is his best production yet, and I have to agree that he did a great job. I think Haley liked it too.

There were some jealous onlookers, and Natey finally could take no more. He had to have a taste.
And though he's not in focus in the picture below, you can see him scavenging for Haley's crumbs.
Happy birthday, Haley. We're glad we could be a part of your special day.

Let's have meatloaf tonight!

I enjoy perusing for new recipes to add to my repertoire, but the ones that actually tickle my fancy are few and far between. I got a new cookbook for Christmas from my dear grandmother, and my sister challenged that I should make every recipe in the book and blog about it. I was going to do it, but found many of the recipes to be unappealing, so maybe I'll just share some of the ones that are actually good.
Earlier this week, I made my first recipe from the new cookbook. It was cheeseburger soup and it did not pass the "husband approval" test. I should have known better, really. I mean, it does sound kinda gross, but the ingredients and picture looked good, so I gave it a shot. I thought it was alright when eaten right away, but as left-overs it failed. In fact, it is still sitting in the fridge. So, after that failure, I was a bit discouraged about the future success of any further cooking from the new cookbook. But, last night I gave it another shot and the results were quite tasty.
Meatloaf....It has taken me a number of years to even be able to stomach the IDEA of meatloaf. Meatloaf, to me, conjures images of mushy meat covered in a sticky ketchup mess. Mmmmm, who wouldn't find that irresistible? Well, me, for one. But, a few years ago, I found a recipe for Marvelous Mini Meatloaves, which Paul and I did find to be quite marvelous. Thus began my affection for meatloaf. Last night I found a new meatloaf recipe that will be a keeper for our house. This ain't my mama's meatloaf! I found the flavor to be quite good; can you really go wrong with pasta sauce and cheese? The only thing I found to be slightly off-putting was the texture. It was a bit....moist, I suppose; so moist, in fact, that I found myself questioning whether or not it was actually cooked. I would prefer it to be drier, but because the taste is so pleasant, I can get over it. I told Natey it was pizza and he ate 3/4 of one:-).

Mini Meat Loaves

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup purchased pasta sauce
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped if large
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1- Heat oven to 450.
2- Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine egg, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons of basil, and 1/4 tsp salt. Add beef and 1/2 cup of the cheese; mix well. Divide beef mixture in four equal portions. Shape each portion in a 5 1/2x2-inch oval. Place on 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Spoon on remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until internal temp registers 160.

Fun in the snow, Southern-style

The snow has turned hard and is now more of a nuisance than a delight. We had our fun (mostly Paul and the boys. I hate being cold), now we want our normal routine back. Sam is sad that he hasn't been able to go to school all week. And Mommy (that would be me) is even more sad that he hasn't had school all week! I love him to bits, but that boy needs to go back to school.
But oh the fun things you can do in the snow.... First off, you get to wear really cool clothes.
The roads were so treacherous that everyone had to stay home, including Daddy (atleast for a little while) and he helped build a snow fortress. It ended up taller than this, but I didn't get a final picture.
Once Daddy returned back to work, Mommy found the courage to brave the winter weather for her beloved children's enjoyment. Our snow wasn't exactly the softest after the sleet left an inch-thick layer of ice on top.
But that layer of ice sure made for good sledding. And who needs a sled when you have a plastic rocking dog?

Shoot, who even needs a plastic rocking dog when you can use your own body?

Natey was just plain cute. As previously mentioned, the poor child doesn't exactly have appropriate Arctic gear, so he was utterly cold. But he wanted so badly to be outside. He couldn't find any sticks because they were all buried in the snow, so instead he just gathered ice.

Meanwhile, Sam and I built a snowman. Best dang snowman you've ever seen. Did I mention I hate being cold? What do you want from me? No, he doesn't have a face, but you get the point with the mittens and hat....which were so generously sacrificed by my freezing little baby.

And finally, the boys couldn't resist playing on their snow-covered playground. Sam is hoping to be the youngest man to ever climb Mt. Everest...right after he learns how to read.

Welcome to Canada

We certainly can't be in South Carolina! Snow? This much snow? Twice so far this winter and it's only early January? Since when does this happen here? The world must be nearing its end because this morning we awoke to a delightful winter wonderland. The boys were beyond excited. We gathered them up, put on all of their best cold weather gear, which didn't amount to much for poor Natey. Sam was lucky enough to have just received some hand-me-down snow bibs and boots, but Natey just had on a couple layers of regular clothes and tennis shoes. I'm pretty sure he had fun anyway, regardless of the fact that he was a cold little iceboy when he came back inside.

A new year

Paul, the boys and I had quite an exciting New Year's Eve. My parents + the Vitamix + fireworks = A Thrilling Good Time. We bought a simple assortment of fireworks and took them, as well as ingredients to make strawberry frozen yogurt in the Vitamix, over to my parents' house. A good time was had by all...despite what may have been depicted in photographs from the evening.
And now a series of thoughts from Sam and Nathanael:

"I'm not really sure that I like this. Dad, don't do anymore."

"I'll protect you, baby brother."

"Protect me, Natey!"

"This is awesome! Great show, Dad!" "Is it over??"
"Oooooo" "Can we just go inside now?"

It was an exhausting evening for the boys. They fell soundly to sleep together in our bed long before the year ended.

Just plain deliciousness

Another tasty creation, courtesy of Vitamix.
This past weekend I made this pumpkin dip, which was suggested to use as a dip for gingersnaps or fruit. I've been spreading the leftovers on bagels. Mmmmm.
And don't these gingersnaps look FABULOUS?? I'll never buy packaged ones again; these were amazing.Gingersnaps

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, molasses, and egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; stir into the molasses mixture. Roll dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Roll each ball in white sugar before placing 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3.Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until center is firm. Cool on wire racks.

Look Ma, dirty hands!
We sure love our Vitamix!