The Tomato Fairy

It's only 1030 on this fine Sunday morning and strange things are already happening...

At 930 my front doorbell went off. I had just rolled out of bed so I threw on my robe and glasses and headed for the door. No one was there even though it only took me a few second to get there. Thinking nothing of it at the time, I went back to my bedroom, put in my contacts, and put my hair up in a messy bun. While doing so I had a thought.. What if it was UPS? Remember, there was no coffee in my system at this point so I wasn't thinking very clearly. I went back to the door and opened it. There is was... a bucket of tomatoes.

I love tomatoes. They are sweet, juicy, versatile, and just all around yummy. But a bucket of mystery tomatoes? The thing is, we aren't social with any of our neighbors. We are polite, but I couldn't tell you anything about them. So why would they donate these glorious fruits to us? I know it wasn't my dad because he would have come around back. Anyone who comes to the house on the regular knows to come through the back... so this was a neighbor. But which one?

I told the boy about it and he said not to eat them unless I find out where they came from. He acted like I was going to launch a full scale investigation. Imagine- *knock knock* "Hi, I'm sorry to bother you.  My name is Elizabeth and I was just wondering, did you abandon a bucket of yummy looking tomato fruits on my front doorstep at 930am on the 28th of July?" The neighbors would be thrilled...

So, to you, Tomato Fairy- Congratulations on your successful harvest and thank you for the kind and generous gesture. The tomatoes look lovely and I can imagine many uses for them. Unfortunately, one mustn't make a habit of eating foods that are just left on their doorstep. So until I know your true identity your glorious bounty will have to go uneaten. If I knew who you were I would devour them... but my mama always told me not to take food from strangers and this, dear fairy, is very strange.

Cheers!
-E- 

Hello, Old Friend

It's been about a year since my last post, which is so silly. The 2012-13 school year knocked my socks off. I had no time to breathe, let alone cook or post. Luckily the boy was understanding and became the chef. When the year ended in June I needed to take a little while to recover and regain myself. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I started playing in the kitchen again. Thankfully, I made some really awesome stuff. I will post those recipes soon.

It is not my intention to abandon this blog as the new school year begins in a few weeks. I am going to post as often as possible. There are many changes that are happening in this crazy life right now and I have resolved that I am not going to repeat the mistake of losing myself to work again. If I intend to stay sane then I need to continue to do the things that make me happy and I need to make the time for those things...

Therefore, I will cook.

Recipes coming soon.

Cheers!
-E-

Reality

I am officially one week into the new school year and I am missing Summer something awful. That's a lie. I'm not missing Summer. I'm mourning Summer. It's been a hard go, but such is life.

I am going to continue my culinary adventures, though. In fact, I think that this will become more than just an adventure and become more like therapy. I'm okay with that. Anything to keep me sane until June 2013.

Stay tuned. The best is yet to come :)

Love!
-E-

Forgotten Chicken

FORGOTTEN CHICKEN

It doesn't look like much, but damn is it good.

What you will need:

• 4-6 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 2 cups minute rice
• 1 can water

What you will need to do:

1. Mix the two cans of soup, the can of water, and the rice together 
2. Butter pan well
3. Pour rice mixture into pan, spread out evenly
4. Place chicken breasts on top of rice mixture
5. Sprinkle onion soup mixture on top of chicken/rice evenly
6. Cover with aluminum foil (very important!)
7. This is where the name "Forgotten Chicken" comes into play. You have two options:
1. Bake at 275 for 3 hours or until chicken is totally cooked
2. Bake at 350 for 1-1.5 hours or until chicken is totally cooked
8. Remove from over, scoop, nosh.

So, about this chicken. I was skeptical, but I needed something that I could throw together, put in the oven and forget about so that I could tend to other important things. I thought this would be a sloppy, mushy mess.It wasn't. The rice was perfectly cooked and tender, the chicken was crazy moist and flavorful, and the flavor balance was just right. I made this for the family dinner we hosted tonight and everyone loved it. I personally felt it was very good, but what I really appreciate is how simple it was to make. It was just as simple as mixing a few things together and throwing it in the oven.

I served this with a salad and the Garlic Parmesan Pull Apart Bread (refer to previous posts). It was a fantastic combination and I look forward to making this in the future. 

Enjoy!

-E-

 

Red Velvet and Marshmallow Cupcakes

RED VELVET AND MARSHMALLOW CUPCAKES

 Sweet, sticky goodness.

What you will need:

• One box of red velvet cupcake mix and whatever you need to make it (if you want to make the cupcakes from scratch, more power to you.)
• Large marshmallows

What you need to do:

1. Bake the cupcakes according to the directions on the box.
2. When the cupcakes have 5 minutes left place a marshmallow on top of each cupcake. The marshmallow should be standing up. 
3. When the 5 minutes are up, put oven on broil. DO NOT WALK AWAY. You want the marshmallow to be slightly toasted, but not burned. 
4. When the marshmallows have toasted, remove and place on cooling rack. 
5. Take a silicone spoon (it won't stick) and squish the marshmallow down gently so that it spreads over the entire cupcake top.
6. Grub. 

Honestly, it took me a hot minute to get this sticky marshmallow thing down. Once I figured out my best method (it may be different for you, which is fine), it was cake and pie. Well, cake and ... marshmallow. 

It was yummy. And it can be totally versatile. The options are endless. I am excited to try this with chocolate cupcake and a little graham cracker. Hello, smore cupcakes! Soon...

Everyone loved these. The cake was super moist and the marshmallow was toasted just perfectly.All in all, a success.

Enjoy!

-E-

 

Garlic and Parmesan Pull Apart Bread

GARLIC AND PARMESAN PULL APART BREAD

Oh man, is this stuff good...

What you are going to need:

• 1 can of Southern Style Grands Biscuits (do NOT get the flaky kind!)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 stick of butter (I think that is the equivalent of 1/4 cup)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• bunt pan 

What you need to do:

1. Crank your oven to 350 degrees
2. Put the butter in the pan and place in over
3. Remove pan from oven when the butter is melted, be careful not to burn
4. As the butter is melting, pop the biscuits open and slice into 1/4's
5. Mix the biscuit pieces, garlic, and cheese together gently. You want the biscuit pieces to be coated, but not smooshed
6. Place the biscuit pieces into the pan and place in oven
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown
8. Remove from oven, place plate over pan, flip carefully, serve
9. Devour.

When I tell you that this is stupidly tasty, I mean it is SO EFFIN' GOOD. The boy was so excited to see I was making pull apart bread and that it was a savory loaf. It went perfectly with the chicken casserole I made for the family dinner we hosted tonight (recipe on that soon), and it was so easy and cheap to make. You could add any kind of herbs or spices you wanted to go with whatever it is that you're making. We are simply people, though... and the garlic and parmesan was just right. This will be a new regular in our house. In fact, my dad asked if I would make these for Thanksgiving (which his birthday happens to fall on this year). These are a lot like the little bread bites you can get at a lot of pizza places now, but better. They are seasoned just right and can compliment any entree. 

Enjoy!

-E-

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce

 Seriously, guys. Seriously.

What you'll need:

• soft tortillas, large
•  2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I bought a full, cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and just pulled the meat off)
• 2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 3 (tbsp) butter
• 3 (tbsp) flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies
• Cilantro

What you'll need to do: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan
2. Mix chicken and 1 cup of cheese. Roll up in tortillas ans place in pan.
3. Saute any veggies you might want to add in. We did pepper and onions. Once sauteed, place over rolled up tortillas. If this isn't your thing, skip this step.
4. In sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over Med heat until thick and bubbly.
5. Stir in sour cream and chillies. Do NOT bring to a boil. You do not want to curdle the sour cream.
6. Pour over the enchiladas and too with the remaining cheese. We added cilantro at this point, as well.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes and then under high broil for 3 minutes to brown the cheese.
8. Serve with any sides you like and nosh your heart out.

 We loved these. Our only complaint was that the sauce was a bit thin, so next time I am going to add a tiny bit more flour when making the sauce. Otherwise, this was great. It took about a hour to make, which was fine. It was fun to put together and was well worth the time and effort.

At this point I will let the pictures speak for themselves:

 
 

 Enjoy!

-E-