This week in my kitchen

It's been a decent week cooking wise. A few easy nights, one leftover night.  However I did manage to come up with a few things.

I found this thin sliced spicy chicken at Stater Bros. and while I wasn't sure just HOW spicy it would be.  I also wasn't sure what I would do with it, but it was a damn good price and I thought I would make something a little more leaning towards something I would want to eat.  I see recipes for stuffed chicken and chicken wraps so I thought I would figure something out. 

I looked at different recipes for what they stuffed or rolled into chicken and I came up with cream cheese, some shredded cheddar jack, and a little bit of spinach.  I admit I overcooked it just a bit, because I wasn't sure if it would take longer for the inside to cook, but it didn't.  However, the taste was delicious.  I don't usually see the spicy chicken, but I can probably do it with regular chicken and add different spices. 

I made a beef stew also, but I didn't take pictures.  Easy crock pot stew that was warm on the inside, except everyone in this house is weird about vegetables.  Everyone will eat the potatoes.  SR will only eat onions, the boys, just the carrots.  I'm the only one who will eat the mushrooms and everything else.  So serving it was a bit of a chore and everyone's bowl looked a little bit different.  sigh...

These are egg muffins.  One of my friends posted this on the internet.  Except hers looked really good.  These look kinda wrecked.  They did taste pretty good though.  I made them so I can grab a few to take to work for breakfast.  I did it for about three days, after forgetting the first day.  They were tasty, good reheated with some salt.  However after three days, they just felt kinda slimy in the bag.  Probably condensation- but I have a weird thing about wet eggs.  But they are not going to waste, because SR had a few and Max really likes them too. 

Now for something sweet.

Last week cake and brownie mix was on sale for .99 each if you buy 4.  So I bought 4- and then a few days later I bought 4 more.  I realized that the snacks I was buying for the kids lunches was costing me about $10 a week.  And if I made brownies at home, it would cost me maybe $2.00.  So I made a batch of brownies and used my mini muffin pan.  It made 40 little brownie bites.  And guess what, you can FREEZE them.  So I put them in a ziploack and every day I took some out for the kids lunches.  They were defrosted by lunchtime and they said they tastes delicious!!  Go mom!!!

Since I then had 3 boxes of brownies and 4 boxes of cake in my pantry, I decided to look up recipes for cake mix.  When I read "cake mix cookies" I thought- whaaaaaa?????

Cake mix
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs
I c chocolate chips.

They are delicious!!!  A little sweeter than the usual chocolate chip cookies- one or two is quite enough,  But really good.  Easy to make.  Bake for 10 min at 375 and while they are cooling, the sort of settle.  They look fluffy and cakey when you take them out of the oven- but after about 5 minutes cooling, they flatten out and they look and taste awesome. 

Very light in color, but delicious.

Imagine the possibilities!  Red velvet with white chocolate chips.  Chocolate cake and mint chips, or peanut butter chips.  Ohhhh the sweets.... I love the sweets.

As you can imagine, the kids and SR are really loving my domestic abilities. 

You win some bread, you lose some dough

So my bread making efforts have been decent. 

Banana bread- win.  It could be a little sweeter, I need to find the sweet spot for ripe bananas.  But hot with butter, it was delish.

French bread- turned out awesome, but doesn't really keep for more than a day. 

Rolls for thanksgiving.  The dough was awesome, and the rolls turned out beautiful. 

I was impressed.  They cooked about a minute too long- but while still warm, they were a huge hit.  and so pretty. 

Lightly flour a rolling pin, and roll one dough half out into a 13×9-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Cut the rectangle lengthwise into 6 strips. Stack the strips evenly, with the buttered side up, and cut the stack into 12 pieces. Repeat with the other dough half. Grease 2 regular muffin pans, and place one piece in each muffin pan cup, with the layers facing up.

This week my attempts were not so good.

I wanted to make a French bread as my inlaws were visiting I wanted to wow them.  I thought to just use the dough cycle, and then bake it in the oven so I could shape it like an actual French bread roll. 
That didn't happen. 

I don't know exactly what happened but maybe I misread the flour, cause it was a sticky mess.  Cleaning was a bitch also.  And I had dough in my hair many hours after my company LEFT. Bought sourdough rolls instead.  Objective: failed

Then I thought I'd make burger buns to go with the pulled pork sandwiches we had for dinner tonight.  Again, didn't happen.

The dough cycle mixes for 7 minutes.  That's it, then it starts the first rise.  So any changes you want to make to the dough has to be done the first 5 minutes or so.  I peeked in to look at the dough ball and it was dry.  Not even mixed well enough if you ask me.  And by the time I tried to add more liquid, the mixing stopped.  No fixing it at that point.  I took the dough ball out and tried to add more water and mix it with the hook attachment (for dough) on my hand mixer.  I don't have a stationary mixer.  For this task, I need one. 

So picture me, with a huge ball of dough with some added liquid.  I put the hook into the dough ball, and turn it on low.  The BOWL starts spinning.  Liquid flying.  Holy shit!!  So I hold on to high speed bowl spin, and then the dough ball is spinning.  Nothing is mixing.  More liquid flying.  Shit.

So I flour a cutting board and thump the dough ball onto it.  THUMP.  It actually THUMPED.  I tried adding water but there was just no penetrating this thing.  It was just getting messier.  My fingers were getting stickier.  I heard my friends voice, "bread is cheap to make so it's ok if you fuck up a few batches." 

So I threw the whole wet mess into the garbage.  Today, I bought rolls.  Objective: failed AGAIN

I am not giving up on this.  I know I can make dough.  I made it for the rolls for thanksgiving.  It CAN be done.  Also I need to watch the mixing on the dough cycle more carefully. I only have a limited amount of time to correct mistakes.  It's all about finding the correct wet to dry ratio.  When all else fails, apply math!!! 

Adventures in bread making

I have not forgotten this place.  I have just been cooking a lot of the same things.  Tacos.  Meatloaf.  Nothing exciting.

However I DID get an EXCELLENT birthday gift. A bread maker!!!

This one to be exact.

I am so excited about it. 

To go with my new breadmaker I also received from friends:

A HUGE book of breadmaker recipes
A new bread knife
A bread slicer (you put the bread on it and cut between the slats
A new flour container
A new set of measuring spoons from an 1/8 to 2 cups.
A recipe book stand!!

I'm SOOOO ready.

I have made three loaves of bread.

Loaf 1.
White bread.  From the book that came with the machine.  Tasted great, but collapsed.  I think I did not measure the salt very well. 

Loaf 2.
White bread. From the King Arthur Flour website, used olive oil instead of butter.  Turned out perfect. 

Loaf 3.
Sour cream bread.  From my Breadmaker book.
1/2 cup +1 tablespoon of water
1/1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons of lilght brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon yeast

Mine rose a little too high, and collapsed just a bit.  I think next time I will make sure the sourcream is room temp, and NOT try to slice it before it's cool (like the recipe says).  Either way.  The taste is delicious.  It has just a hint of sweet but it's moist and delicious.  The kids used it for their lunches today and they both loved it. 

Tonight I'm making banana bread.  Very excited about that!!!!! 

And I'm going to also make dough tonight for rolls tomorrow to go with spaghetti.  The excitement is killing me.

I sort of look at making bread with the same respect as I produced breast milk.  Stay with me.....  It's such a basic staple of life.  Bread.  And I can make it.  There's a weird pride for me in that. 

Ok, stop laughing.     

Things I found on the internet

I love looking at posts about easy and clever ways to organize.  I am not very organized, but I dream of being one of those really creative organizers. 

I found this article yesterday on Pinterest.  Have you been on Pinterest??  I spent HOURS yesterday pinning recipes and decorating ideas and clever organizing.

Here's some amazing things I want to do, but I probably never will.

Magnetic Strips for Bobby Pins

Garment bag to organize wrapping paper

 

Instead of shoving it in a box in the medicine cabinet

 

Solo cups for arranging Christmas Ornaments

Here's my Pinterest Page.   It's growing, and I'm adding things daily.  Anything you want to find, you can probably find it on Pinterest. 

For the love of balsamic vinegar

I have been trying to use cheaper cuts of meat to save some money so I bought some London Broil.  I don't love London Broil.  In the three years I've been living with SR I've developed a love for fatty, chewy and delicious cuts of meat.  London Broil isn't that.  Everyone else likes it, and it fits my budget, so I buy it when it's on sale.

What I DID do was make a really good sauce for it.  I followed a recipe I found on line but didn't add the cherries or cranberries, cause I didn't have any.  But let me tell you, it was delicious.

I have had oil and vinegar with bread and as salad dressing, but I've just started using it for cooking.  The sauce was sweet, and buttery and whatever the flavor vinegar gives you.  Vinegary?  I don't know, but it was delicious.

I think on better cut of meat it would be totally glorious.  As soon as our budget allows, I'm going to make it on a New York Steak. 

I also made some corn bread.  I was going to make it from scratch- the recipe is easy enough but when I went to the store to buy cornmeal, I saw this.

My mom used to make this.  And they were .59 for a small box.  Each box makes 6-8 muffins with just an egg and 1/3 cup of milk.  So I made two boxes and put it all in a 10 inch round pan and made cornbread.  Everyone loved it and we ate it all.

At that price, it's way cheaper to make it from the box and it was really good.  I guess that's why it's been around for so long. 

With butter and honey- along with the delicious sauce from the London Broil, dinner was warm and tasty and we are all satisfied and happy.

Mom's Taquitos

I call them "Mom's Taquitos" because that is what my kids call them, but the recipe was given to me from my friend Arin, who's mom used to make them this way.  So this is actually Star's Mom's taquitos, but my kids won't remember that. 

Before I continue, I have to tell you that SR doesn't prefer these.  He likes his taquitos with ketchup.  KETCHUP!!!  It's repulsive and I tell him that every time I give them to him.

These however, are delicious.  Even as leftovers. 


I usually buy a big box of a frozen taquitos, or two boxes of 20.  It depends on the size of the pan you are using but I like having two layers.  I don't have the perfect size pan for it, but my 9x13 does ok. 

Pour a can of green enchilada sauce over it so it covers the top and gets in between them.  I use the mild flavor, because the medium is a little spicy for the kids, but I prefer the medium.  Then cover it with cheese.  I use the cheddar jack because that's the catch-all cheese that I keep in the house. 

Bake for about 30 minutes at the temperature the box dictates.

Before

After

Doesn't that look yummy??  It really is yummy.  I top it with sour cream, and some green salsa.  It's divine.  I made it with some spanish rice and it was great. 

SR had his with ketchup.  I may need to leave him. 

I am NOT the burger king

Burgers tonight. 

Sometimes I feel like a damn short order cook for a restaurant of grumpy impatient people who don't tip the waitresses.

Burgers used to be easy.  Add cheese, to some of them and go.

Now, kids have specifics.  Everyone has specifics.

Jerkface is easy.  Ketchup only.  Quantity 2
Bonehad (10 year old) he likes a double cheese burger.  No condiments.
Evil Spawn (age 7) he likes cheese, ketchup and mustard. Quantity 2
SR likes double cheeseburger with onions, bacon if possible and a little bit of ketchup.

That's 8 burgers, for 4 people.  And I haven't even eaten yet.

I did so much cooking that I didn't even bother making one for myself.  I was sick of burgers before I even had one. 

So I'll have some leftover meatloaf for dinner. 

I'm so tired by this point in the evening.

I come home, do homework, and cook, tend to the dog, the animals, some cleaning. All in between telling the kids to stop screaming.  Why are they ALWAYS screaming?  Are they hard of hearing?  Do they not hear each other?  They certainly don't hear me.

Sometimes this mom thing... it's exhausting. 

I'm not complaining... ok- yes.  I'm complaining.  I'm irritable and tired. 

and I smell like hamburger. 
It's kind of nauseating.

I'm going to shower and wash the grease off of me and go to bed. 
Mom is checking out for the night.