Weekend cooking

I did some cooking this weekend, trying to start off right before the debauchery of Super Bowl Sunday happened.  I have been craving quiche.  Who doesn’t crazy quiche, right?!  It’s an egg pie with vegetables and cheese!  I followed this recipe adding about ½ a cup of chopped ham steak.  I also used frozen deep dish pie crusts and ended up having enough for 2 quiches with the addition of 2 eggs and ½ a cup of milk to make more of the custardy filling.  

For dinner, with it still being jacket weather, I made a soup in the crock pot.  This soup is a dump everything into a pot recipe and the only prep work was for the cilantro.  After cooking on high for 4 hours I shredded the chicken (2 chicken breasts) and added the cubed cream cheese.  It’s kind of crazy how much the cream cheese adds to the soup.  It gives it a body and creaminess that is very satisfying.  The calories really don’t count because 8 ounces of cream cheese is split over many servings.  I added a couple of cups of frozen corn to the soup because I was not using the entire bag in the corn bread.

With the soup I wanted a bread and I thought this is finally the time for me to make a Mexican corn bread.  I added a couple of sliced green onions that I had left over from the quiche to add some more greenery because I think that looks pretty.  I also only used half a can of chopped jalapenos because I have had Mexican corn bread before that was too spicy hot to be enjoyable.  I wanted subtle heat especially since it would be served along hot soup.

For Sunday, we smoked wings.  Or maybe we baked wings on a smoker…. Outdoor cooking isn’t my department.  I was only in charge of the rub.  This rub was perfect – not too salty, not too spicy.  I only jumped onto the wing craze in the last year and it is not because of the sauce, it is because of the crispy skin.  In a restaurant, this is accomplished by ordering the sauce on the side and then throwing it away (well, some people end up eating it.. I do not).   I figure without tossing the wings in a buttery sauce these can be diet friendly.  Other than a minor amount of skin, it is all protein. 

 

 

October 22, 2017

We met at my house.  I originally picked a theme of pumpkin spice but then I simply thought SPICE and switched to Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tacos.  I used my grill pan for the chicken and it turned out very tender and juicy.  It was as if cooking on the grill surface kept the chicken from having full contact to the pan and thus not over cooking.  Or, I could have been watching it very carefully because it was for company.  

The chicken had a nice flavor, not too spicy, and the cream sauce would dilute any heat, thus you are encouraged to add a sriracha and honey sauce.

Our side was Angelica's top secret Spanish Rice.  It was very tasty and the grains of rice were fluffy and non-sticky.

Ingredients

1 cup of dry long grain rice

1 tsp. Cumin

1/2 - 1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder

1 Cube Chicken Broth Bullion Crumbled

1 Dash of Salt

1-2 Tbsp. of oil

1/4 cup chopped onions

1 handful of sliced or diced green bell pepper

1-2 sprigs of fresh cilantro

2 cups of water

1 - 2 Tbsp. of tomato sauce (flavor & color)

1 - 2 Tbsp. of chopped tomato w Mexican blend spices.

Add oil to pot and heat to medium heat.  Lower heat and add rice, onion and bell peppers and fry the rice opaque. Add tomato sauce and chopped tomato and mix. Add the 2 cups of water and put in all the seasonings. Bring to a rolling boil 3-5 minutes and taste the broth, add more seasoning if desired.

After 1 last stir of the ingredients put heat to a simmer, add the sprigs of cilantro and COVER the rice to cook for 20 MINUTES. 

DO NOT TOUCH, or uncover. After 20 minutes, turn off and remove from heat and leave the top on for 5 extra minutes. After 5 minutes fluff the rice with a fork and serve.

 

To accompany our tacos we sipped on pineapple margaritas.  I like to make big pitchers of cocktails ahead of time for several reasons:  

1.  The flavors have time to blend.

2.  I'm lazy.

3.  We get our drink on faster!

These cocktails, while having plenty of vitamin C, where just ok. 

Our appetizer was prepared by Mary, Garlic Knot Chicken Alfredo Ring.  Make sure this is baked all the way through or it will adhere to the pan something fierce!  The recipe calls for serving this with Alfredo sauce though I think it would be really good with a marinara sauce.  Then it would be like chicken pizza pull apart bread!

Tonya baked Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie for our dessert.  This dessert seems very complicated with the flaky layers and creamy filling however it is simplified by the use of refrigerated crescent rolls. These bars are delicious and I have made this recipe before to rave reviews at the office  

And speaking of desserts, Tonya recently made the most delicious brownies. She followed the recipe other than adding a handful of pecans.  Also, these are a Blondie despite being called disappearing marshmallow BROWNIES.  I could not stop eating these!  The melted marshmallows make the texture very chewy and irresistible.

September 10, 2017

We met for our first post Harvey gathering at Mary's.  Despite some drama at the entry gate we were in great spirits!

We started our evening with a Kentucky Storm cocktail that Mary "cleaned up the calories with diet ginger ale, regular bourbon and ginger syrup" and Mexican shrimp cocktail.   Later with dinner we also enjoyed Amarula Cream Liqueur.  Yum.  It has been a traumatic month, don't judge.

Angelica prepared the appetizer and served it with tortilla chips.  This was a really flavorful shrimp dip that tasted both like shrimp cocktail and salsa.  You can use frozen shrimp to make it easy to throw together.

Tonya’s Mexican Citrus Salad with Avocado was both sweet and savory with many textures thanks to the jicama and citrus slices. 

The Roasted Chili Lime Cod had tons of flavors from all the spices which crusted the fish.  For our side dish, Mary threw together cilantro lime couscous.  It was a nice cool contrast to the spicy fish.  To prepare, mix lime juice and chopped cilantro with hot, cooked couscous. Simple and delicious.

I baked Hurricane Cake in honor of Hurricane Harvey.  This cake will make you forget floods, refugees and even your name due to its richness.  There is a bottom layer of nuts and coconut (but not for Tonya) then a moist chocolate cake with dollups of cream cheese and finished with chocolate syrup because WHY NOT.  This is like German Chocolate upside down cake because the nuts and coconut (not for Tonya) are on the bottom and there is no need for icing.  Easier and I think more delicious than German Chocolate cake.

August 6, 2017

The four Gourmet Gals met at Tonya's for our August gathering.

For the appetizer course I highlighted lemons to compliment the lemon pasta.  I made lemon hummus served with cucumbers, bell peppers and cauliflower.  Hummus is so versatile and you can easily change the flavor by adding an ingredient to the basic recipe of chickpeas and tahini. It is also very healthy!

The second lemon appetizer I prepared was a bit more indulgent:   lemon basil ricotta crostini.  I "cheated" and bought the crostini from Sprouts.  The little toasts are perfectly seasoned and crisp.  The ricotta spread is creamy and a blank canvas desperate for flavor.  It needs a lot of salt and the basil is not only a garnish but flavor.  It is light and creamy and a delicious contrast to the crostini. 

Angelica's salad had a lemon vinaigrette that was simple yet very tasty and also featured lemons!  She made a salad with kale, green leaf lettuce, cucumbers and red bell peppers.  It was a perfect summer salad.

The main dish was lemon pasta with roasted shrimp.  To the recipe, Tonya added Parmesan cheese and parsley.  There is not a sauce just the flavor of lemons in the pasta.  I did not taste a "roasted" flavor in the shrimp and I think the shrimp could have been cooked in the pasta water or tossed with the pasta at the end since shrimp cook so quickly.  I would make this again because I do love spaghetti, butter and shrimp.

Mary's peach buttermilk pie was one of the more delicious desserts that I have ever eaten.  The recipe actually calls for apples and she decided to switch it up and use summer peaches.  What makes this pie so perfect is it has three wonderful things.. fruit, custard and a struessel topping.