Last night was going to be just another boring dinner night in my house. I had some chicken and some potatoes and was planning on doing nothing special with them. Then I thought maybe I could make a pan sauce to eat with the chicken. Then from there things started to snowball and I ended up with a pretty tasty dish. I didn’t measure anything, but here’s a general recipe so that you too can enjoy this tasty dish.

• Chicken: I went with boneless skinless chicken thighs that I had broiled in my oven.
• Cream cheese: I used an entire 8oz block
• Rotel: One can. It can be hot or mild or regular. Depends on how hot you like your food.
• Onion: I used one small yellow onion, diced.
• Garlic: I minced one large clove
• Corn: one can, drained
• Thinning liquid: Milk, chicken broth, wine… your choice. I used milk because it’s what I had.

Now at the last minute I converted this into a pasta dish, but it didn’t start out that way. It just looked like it was begging for me to add pasta, so I did.

I started by putting a little olive oil and butter into a large non stick skillet. Then I added the onion and garlic and sauteed for a few minutes. Then I dumped in the entire can of Rotel. I didn’t drain any of the liquid out first. I let this simmer for a few more minutes and then I got out my potato masher and squished the tomatoes until it was less chunky and more saucy. I did this because I don’t like tomatoes. I just like what tomatoes have to offer. Then I started adding in the cream cheese, a pinch at a time. Then I added the corn. Keep stirring until all of the cream cheese is melted. Then you’ll need your thinning liquid. Just start pouring in your wine or broth or milk until you’ve thinned the mixture to your liking. So of course this means sampling along the way. Adding salt and pepper to taste. From there I added my chicken to the pan. I added whole pieces, but you could chop or even shred. Or just plate your chicken and pour the sauce over it. Obviously I boiled up some spaghetti and added it to the mix. I still made the crash hot potatoes that I originally planned to make, and my husband added a few to his bowl.

What I might do different next time? Add in some of that Philadelphia cooking creme they have now instead of plain cream cheese. It’s thinner and pre-seasoned. You could easily cut the cream cheese in the recipe by half and still have a delicious dish.

So now I just have to figure out what to call this dish.

Over the weekend I had a party at my house. Since it had been about nine years since we’d had a party in our house, I felt like we were long overdue. Of course now that I’m older I wanted less of a party and more of a structured evening with adult friends who are fun to be around. So that’s how Game Night came to be.

We played Cards Against Humanity which is just like Apples to Apples, but with a bit more pop culture and adult cards added to the mix. There was lots of food and booze and no one spilled anything on my almost white carpet.

I made caprese salad bites because I saw them on Pinterest and thought they would appeal to the masses. I was right.

I also made some stuff called Cowboy Caviar. Now I read a lot of different recipes for this and each one was a little bit different. In the end I made up my own based off of the foods that my husband loves. So here’s the recipe:

Cowboy Caviar

2 cans of black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 small red onion, diced

1 can corn, drained

1 can rotel, drained

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Put all of that in a bowl with some salt and pepper and let it hang out while you make your dressing.

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

2 tbl lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

Mix those four ingredients together and then bring them to a boil for a minute or so. Just long enough for the sugar to dissolve. Once it cools completely pour it over your salad and serve.

Call me an idiot, but I forgot to eat any food the whole time. I did not, however, forget to have drinks. The Adult Arnold Palmers were the cocktail of choice for the night. (half Simply Lemonade and half sweet tea vodka)

I made each guest a mixtape cd and we did a drawing for a door prize. But the best part of the night were my friends. We had a great time and lots of laughs. Even if it did get a little inappropriate at the end of the evening. Oh who am I kidding? Inappropriate is what we do best.

I wish I had taken more photos, but sometimes you just have to be in the moment instead of trying to capture the moment. They were great moments though and I can’t wait for the next Game Night.

In an effort to keep my stress levels lower this holiday season, I decided not to go anywhere for Thanksgiving. The family my sister works for invited us to join them so I said yes. Then I found out that there will be 50 people there. Man, those people know how to party.

Then I remembered that hello? I have new appliances this year. Why am I not cooking my own dinner? So I decided that I would cook a simple turkey dinner so that we could feast off of the leftovers for days. So we’ll have late lunch at the party house and then a nice dinner later at home.

Menu:

• turkey & gravy
• dressing (cooked outside of the turkey)
• cream cheese corn
• green beans
• mashed potoates
• banana cream cheese pie
• hawaiian sweet rolls

I might add a can of jellied cranberry sauce, but only if Thom wants it. I don’t eat the stuff.

So what’s on the menu at your house? Are you keeping it traditional, or trying something new?

That’s what we’re calling this dish. A hot mess. Because a) it’s hot and b) it doesn’t look like anything you’d want to put in your mouth.

The recipe is from The Larson Lingo and it reminds me a lot of my Chicken Corn Chowder.

I modified her recipe just a smidge. Here’s what I used.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs of frozen chicken, boneless and skinless (I used both white and dark meat)
• 1 can Rotel (or tomatoes and green chilies for those of you who don’t know what Rotel is)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 block cream cheese
• 1 tbl cumin
• 1 tbl salt
• 1 tbl pepper

If you’re putting this on and heading to work for 8 hours, go ahead and put your crock pot on low. If you’re around the house to monitor it, I say put it on high for 4 hours then switch to low for another 2-4 hours.

You can serve it over rice, but I had mine in a bowl with tortilla chips. I imagine it would also make a good layered casserole with corn tortillas. Next time I make it I will probably add chopped onion. It’s pretty good stuff. We’ve been eating on it for three days now. It really doesn’t look appetizing at all, but if you can get past it long enough to taste it, it’s delicious.

image from Larson Lingo

I miss cake. And cookies. And butter.

I’ve never eaten so many bananas in my life.

If I win I’m booking a trip to Seattle.

So I signed up for The Biggest Blogging Loser competition. I begrudgingly emailed a photo of my scale weight to Jennie and then promptly rejoined Weight Watchers. The money is a big motivator for me. I like cash. I also like winning at things. I still don’t like exercise though. I long for the day that changes. Except that it won’t change until I actually get off my butt and do some. Catch 22!

I might post updates here from time to time, but I’m mainly blogging about it elsewhere. A nice private elsewhere where no one will see the rants and numbers and general frustration.

Is anyone else participating?

So I made these meatballs the other night to take to a friend’s house. And well, I was just kind of winging it with the recipe. However, they turned out to be the best meatballs ever! So I’ll share the recipe with you. As best I can since I didn’t really measure anything.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 cup parmesan (I used the Kraft kind in a can)
• 1 box frozen spinach (microwaved and squeezed out with a towel)
• 1 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried basil

I mixed all of this together in my Kitchen Aid mixer and then rolled into balls. I used my dainty little IKEA ice cream scooper so they weren’t large, but also not tiny.

I baked them at 350 for what felt like an hour. I made sure check on them ever 20 minutes and rotated them about half way through.

Now honestly, you could just stop right there and eat them like this and you would be so happy. Lord knows I was. However, I was determined to make a tomato gravy for them to hang out it.

Tomato Gravy

• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup beef broth (or any other flavor broth)
• 2 tbl sugar
• 1 cup cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 cup parmesan

I used my pretty new cast iron pot to make the gravy.

I poured a bit of olive oil on the bottom so I could sweat out the onions and garlic for a few mins. I actually put the lid on and walked away and when I came back they were a little bit stuck to the bottom. But that’s ok! I just deglazed with the beef broth and scraped as best as I could. Then I added the crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, spices, parmesan, and lastly, the cream. I covered it and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Then I added the meatballs. I let everything hang out on a low heat for about a half hour.

Everyone seemed to love them. I made them on Saturday and had the leftovers on Monday for lunch. And the gravy was even better then. Still, they were amazing all on their own and I can’t wait to make them again.

There’s a place in town called Old School Bagel Cafe. Obviously their specialty is bagels. If you go I highly recommend a toasted everything bagel with garlic herb cream cheese. I also recommend that you try one of their many awesome cookies. Specifically the oatmeal white chocolate chip cranberry cookie. It’s beyond amazing. It’s a massive ball of a cookie, but oh so good. See?

Their regular oatmeal raisin cookie is also one of the best I’ve ever had.

I knew I wanted to recreate this cookie, but I don’t have the best of luck making oatmeal cookies. They always come out flat. But I decided I would give it another go. I found this recipe on the Joy of Baking site and it seemed like a pretty good one. And while they might not be as good as the ones at Old School, no one over here is complaining.

I finally had good luck with an oatmeal cookie.

What’s your favorite cookie?

So Britt invited us all last month to join her in cooking at home and posting it. She’s doing it in an effort to eat out less and save money. I just did it because I like her and she asked nicely. I didn’t do a very good job though. I forgot to take photos most nights, and then when I did remember it was only after I had started eating. And let’s just say the lighting in my kitchen sucks. So now that I have your expectations good and low, let’s get this party started.

Burgers.

I bought two pre-made patties, although I really should have pounded them out into four. These were hilarious to try and eat. I also bought some fresh okra and shook it up in a baggie with some jiffy cornmeal mix and chopped onions. Seriously, there is no better way to eat okra.

Pizza Burgers

This is a recipe from my childhood. And the good thing is, it can be modified to your taste. Here is how I make it.

-1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained (I usually season it up a bit with italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic etc.)
-1 jar pizza sauce
-8 oz shredded mozzarella (I always shred my own, it’s so much better)
-1 small can of Spam, also shredded with ye olde cheese grater (go ahead and gag, but it’s the only time I ever eat Spam)
-hamburger buns
-things that one could add to jazz it up: olives, onions, peppers, pepperoni

Basically after you cook the beef you add it back to the pan and add all of the ingredients and let it simmer until the cheese is nice and melty. Then scoop it onto the buns and cook on 350 for about 15 mins. Or until they start to brown.

Beer Battered Chicken Tenders

Don’t make these. I don’t know what I was thinking. Save your beer batter mix for your fish. These came out hard and dry and just gross.

Grilled Ribeye

It took me a long time to learn how to grill a steak properly. And sometimes I still struggle with figuring out exactly how long it needs to cook to come out medium. This is mostly due to the fact that sometimes I bring home a nice thick ribeye, and other times I get stuck with a skinny one. Oh and I put ketchup on my steak. No judging.

Pot Roast with mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts

With the pot roast, I seared it for a few mins on each side on my dutch oven with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and onions. Then I poured in a can of beef consumme, covered it, and cooked it for about 6 hours on 250. The mashed potatoes were full of butter and cream cheese. The brussel sprouts I don’t eat, but Thom gobbles them up. I just buy them frozen and microwave them in the bag for about 4 minutes, cut them in half and toss with salt and olive oil. Then I roast them under the broiler for about 10 minutes.

Taco Salads

Man I love taco salads. Azteka makes a great shell you bake yourself. Thom always turns up his nose when I put olives and cheese on mine and I do the same when loads on the sour cream. Plus I can get away with not having to make any sides. Unless you count a can of black beans.

Brown beans and jalapeno cornbread (and salad)

Sometimes you just have to make a delicious pot of beans. And these were delicious because they had copious amounts of ham in them. The cornbread recipe comes from my grandmother’s church cookbook. (although I cheat and mix up two boxes of Jiffy mix, creamed corn, cheddar, and jalapenos)

I still cook it in a cast iron skillet though.

Ok well I suppose that sums up what I managed to photograph for the month. I’m sure Britt’s post will be much better than mine.

So I wrote a review for Chicory and Chives over at Tasha Does Tulsa today if anyone wants to read it….

It’s pretty riveting stuff.