Ending to a great week

As some of you may know, I have been gone for the last 8 days to Las Vegas for work....yes I said for work. lol.  Anyways I have been internet free for most part so there was no updating of my blog but I am back today to share all my fun and adventures however I would like to start with my final two recipes that I made before I left.  :)

First off I made the Herb-Crusted Chicken Piccata.  This recipe was a flattened breaded chicken breast with a lemon zesty sauce drizzled over the top.  I started with 3 boneless skinless chicken breast and cut them in half lengthwise - then I had to flatten them out with a rolling pin.  Once this was completed I had to create a crust for the chicken.  This consisted of italian bread crumbs (or in our case regular ones), garlic powder and pepper.

Once this was put together then I had to press the chicken into this breading mixture on both sides.  

After this was done, I had to melt some butter in the frying pan and and cook the chicken on either side.  Where the chicken was supposed to be flattened it shouldn't have taken much more then a couple of minutes per side, however I didn't quite flatten them like I should have and it took a bit longer.  Once that was done, I set them aside to make the sauce.

The sauce consisted of chicken broth, lemon juice and butter.  I had to whisk this together in the frying pan over low heat for about 1 minute and then spooned it over the chicken.  I ended up cooking some rice and veggies for the side.

 We did enjoy this meal however the chicken was a little overcooked where it wasn't as flat as it should have been and it took me longer to cook it.  Personally I wouldn't add the lemon juice next time as I am not a huge fan of the lemon flavour on foods.  Curtis and I decided that we would rate this a 7 out of 10.

The second and final recipe of the week that I tried was the Crock-Pot Corn Chowder.  I have to admit I didn't actually get to eat this meal however from the rave reviews I got from Curtis I have to say this was most likely the highlight of the week of recipes.

This was quite a simple recipe as all I really had to do was put the ingredients in the slow cooker and then leave it for the day.  There were 5 potatoes, 2 onions chopped, 2 stocks of celery, 2 cans of corn, butter and chicken broth.  I personally don't do well with chopping onions so I used the mini chopper for those and the celery.

 I added all those ingredients to the crock pot and then put it on low for 8-9 hours.

We did think by mid day that the onions may be too overwhelming as the scent was very strong in the house however Curtis did advise me that when he did eat it, it ended up being the perfect amount in it.  Around 4 pm during that day, I got the bright idea to add bacon to the recipe.  I ended up adding about a half a pack of bacon sliced up and mixed.  This did end up taking longer then I expected to cook as I wanted to make sure the bacon was done properly.  Around 7pm, I added a cup of milk and I was supposed to cook it for about another half hour - however I accidentally forgot about this until 10pm when I was in bed :).  Hence why I never got to actually eat the chowder.

The next day Curtis did have it and LOVED it!  I am pretty sure he would have rated this about 9.5 out of 10.  So as you may have guessed, I am looking forward to making this again as I want to try it this time.

As for the Vegas pics, I will definitely share more either later today or tomorrow.  I had a great time and learned lots (as I was there for work) but also had a great time shopping and sight seeing.  Looking forward to sharing more details soon.

Oh How Sweet It Is....

So last night was a busy night but thanks to my new cookbook, I had everything I needed to get supper cooked and it only took about 30 minutes at that!  The recipe that we tried last night was called Sweet Bean Burrito and let me say - You must try it!  It was super yummy and for anyone who is a vegetarian this is a great tasty option for you. 

First of all I must say that this recipe got me out of my comfort zone but it was well worth it.  I experienced using Cumin for the first time and I had no idea it tasted just like taco seasoning (which I am sure is a big part in taco seasoning) but I would have never tried it had I not tried this recipe.

Before I could really get started I had to book two medium sized sweet potatoes and mash them.  The recipe says that you could cook these a day or two before and keep them in the fridge until you need to use them but I did only cook them yesterday.

So basically this recipe started out with cooking an onion and 3 cloves of fresh garlic in some extra virgin olive oil.

Then I added the black beans, sweet potato and cumin, mixed it thoroughly and let it cook through.  This smelled lovely!  It was a little difficult to mix this through at first but I just keept moving it and gradually it worked perfectly.

After it is cooked through I was supposed to divide it into six and put it on a flat bread and roll up like a burrito however I just made two to start as it was only Curtis and I.  It also has some cheese and cilantro on top of the filling which added the perfect flavour.

Curtis and I LOVED this recipe and would give it a stron 8.5 out of 10 however I would recommend adding some salsa to it as it can be a little pasty with the sweet potato and beans.  Anyways like I said this rocked and we would definitely make it again.

On another note - I have been crocheting some chuncky scarves that I will add on here later today! :)

Recipes to try

So about a year ago my Aunt Patsy introduced me to a website called Fly Lady (www.flylady.net).  This website is all about getting your home, cooking and family under control to remove stress from your life.  It is really meant to help people who have a hard time keeping up with the daily activities (such as myself) :) to make it so that you enjoy your home and family much more.

Anyways I haven't fully engulfed myself in this system as of yet however I came across one of their e-mails about a month ago talking about this cookbook that is called Saving Dinner: The Menus, Recipes, and Shopping Lists to Bring Your Family Back to the Table.    Someone was saying how amazing this cookbook was so I went to investigate all about this cookbook.  First of all, I found out there are about 6 of these books.  One is a basics on which teaches people how to prepare and cook certain foods, then there is one with some great basic recipes, one that is vegetarian, low carb, holiday and a few more. 

 After finding this and doing some research, I found out this this cookbook was written by a nutritionist and has a section for each season (Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring).  Under each season there are 8 weeks worth of recipes.  Each week starts off naming the following 6 recepies and then there is a grocery list for EVERYTHING you will need for suppers for the following 6 nights.  I love this!  I thought it was absolutely the best thing ever.  And although there are no pictures in the cook book of what the finished product should look like, the instructions are amazing and easy to follow.  Anyways I have now compelted 3 of these recipes and the 4th will be done tonight.  So that being said, I will post the recipes that I cook and how Curtis and I rate them on a scale of 1-10 (1 being, would never eat it again and 10 being the best meal ever). So here is the start:

Day One - First Recipe:

I made Skillet Chicken with Spinach.  This meal had two full onions in it and I have to say, it wasn't the best thing I have ever eaten but it wasn't horrible either.  It could have definitely had less onions in it for sure and to the point where my house still smells a bit of onions.

It did have lots of tasty chicken and potatoes but the onions could have definitely been taken down a notch.  Anyways we would rate this meal about a 5 out of 10.  Not horrible but not great.  Unsure if I would make this again.

Day Two - Tuna Fusilli

Ok this was just so much better then the first day that we were devouring this meal.  It was a tasty pasta dish and in fact I have some for my lunch today. The sauce was fun to make as I had never made anything quite like it before.  It was a sauce you had to thicken and it did turn out quite well.

This is a cheasy sauce that really was tasty

It had some red peppers and peas it in too which gave it a little twist

The finished product.  Add some parmasean cheese and you are good to go.  We would rate this meal a 8 out of 10 and would definitely make it again.

 

Day Three - Cube Beef Stroganoff

 

Ok so I have NEVER eater Beef Stroganoff before however if it tastes like this, I would definitely eat it.  I had no idea what Cube steak was before this weekend however it apparently is a tenderized steak and let me tell you - You need to experience this.  It was so tasty.  It was a peice of tenderized steak with mushrooms, onion (Yes I went back to onions on a smaller scale this time) and a super sauce that was made for it!  YUM!!! 

 

And we also made some yummy mashed potatoes as a side.  Holy cow it was tasty.  I would definitely rate this a 9 out of 10.  We made it for a friend of ours and he completely agreed with us on this.

So those are my first three meals.  Definitely an experience I might not have had the chance to cook before this cookbook because I typically stay with the same foods. I hope you enjoy your rather unprofessional critiquing. :)

I forgot to add...

I forgot to add these pictures.  Yesterday I was talking about how Curtis got a transformer from his dad this week - Well after a bit of mocking on my part - Or at least that was how Curtis took my laughing continuously, he has reluctantly shared photos with me to share with you all.  This seriously is awesome.

I was advised that when the time came that I would need help Bublebee would not be there to help me. HA HA HA HA...I am still laughing at this one but the car is seriously cool. 

Birthdays and Yarn...

Yesterday when I wrote my first entry to my blog I mentioned to you that I would post more pics of the finished product with the scarf so here are a couple pics. 

I finally finish it last night (Excluding darning in the ends) so that feels like a great accomplishement. 

Also last night was quite fun because it was my Uncle Josh's birthday party.  We went out to Pizza Hut with my Grandparents, Aunt Patsy, Uncle Josh and my cousin Justin.  Unfortunately my parents were missing as they are away down south (sniffle sniffle).  Here is my Uncle being silly as usuall - I guess that is one of the great reasons we love him so much!

And then one a little more reserved ;)

Anyways all in all it was a great day yesterday.  Later today or tomorrow I hope to show you the knitted accent pillow case my grandmother and I are knitting.  It is looking quite sharp and I think it is quite impressive as this is probably one of the most challenging patterns I have followed in a long while. I will keep you posted :)

The Start of Something New

So today I begin this new adventure of blogging.  This is definitely a first for me although a lot of my friends have been doing this for years.  My husband (Curtis) suggested that I create this to share with you my latest and greatest creations as I tend to have a bit of an addiction with any type of crafting. 

As for my first crafting addition to this blog - I must start with a little story.
Two days ago, Curtis called me when I was at work to tell me that his dad sent us a package.  He had sent Curtis a pretty cool Bublebee "Action Figure" (Transformer) that stands about a foot tall and he had sent me something as well.  This was a very pleasant surprise so when I got home I saw a package on the table with my name on it.  I opened it up and saw two balls of yarn.  Now this isn't just any type of yarn.  This yarn makes the fancy ruffled scarves.

To be honest, I have never made one of these before even though my mother has tried to get me interested in knitting them, they always seemed like too much of a headache for me, however that was so not the case!  Last night I took on the challenge of knitting and within a couple of hours, I was 95% done this scarf.  It is so cool.  I don't have any pictures yet of the finished product but I will later tonight. 

On another crafting note, as anyone who knows me can attest to, I have a slight addiction to Starbucks Lattes - To the point where I have my very own Starbucks Gold Card....Seriously pathetic but I just love it so much!  Anyways before Christmas last year I had figured out a pattern to sew cup cozies for my Starbucks cup.

Once I had done so many of these, I lost a bit of interest but then one day I came acress a knitted one with a cable stitch in it.  So of course, I had to make one.  Well now I have made two and after giving the first one away - Here is my second one :)

And of course I had to have one that showed the Starbucks logo. ;)

So that is what I have been up to most recently.  I will be back with more as I can't stop crafting and doing many projects at once.  Hope you enjoyed my first blog :)