June 21, 2011- BBQ Chicken

Ben and I had left over barbecued chicken breasts and a side salad for dinner.  The salad ingredients were romaine lettuce, diced fresh red bell pepper, sliced mushrooms, and a Parmesan and roasted red pepper dressing.  Katie ate the ham out of a sandwich and peas out of the pods.  In the past she has eaten the peas and then moved on to the pods.  Not tonight.  The pods were out.  Oh well, at least she was eating vegetables!

June 16, 2011- Barbecued Chicken

Feeling a little better today, I decided to make the barbecued chicken I didn't make yesterday.  I rubbed four boneless, skinless chicken breasts with our standard bbq rub.  After brushing a little vegetable oil on the grill grates, I cooked the breasts for 10 minutes over Medium Direct heat.  I flipped them after 5 minutes.  At the end, I brushed on barbecue sauce while grilling a couple more minutes. Just now, as I was looking for the post on how to make the bbq rub, I remembered that we usually bbq chicken that is bone-in and skin-on.  That would explain why this chicken was more dry that usual.  The flavor was great, just missing a little moisture.   

I fixed a spinach salad with diced red pepper and a parmesan, roasted red pepper dressing to go with the chicken.  It was quite tasty!

Sunday, 2/13/2011

We grilled chicken tenderloins for our dinner tonight and served them with a side of sugar snap peas.  The chicken was prepared with the same dry rub and barbecue sauce I used Thursday last week.  Katie wasn't interested in the chicken, but she ate quite a few pea pods. 

Thursday, 2/11/2011

My friend Bron came over for dinner tonight.  I was able to get all of the food prepped before she arrived, and was thankful that Katie was willing to play with her while I worked the grill.  It was definitely faster to grill without Katie's "help".  We had barbecued chicken tenderloins and asparagus.  I tossed the asparagus in olive oil, salt and pepper, and grilled on Direct Medium heat for 8 minutes.  The chicken was dry rubbed and then grilled for 6 minutes, also on Direct Medium, turning once, and brushing quickly with barbecue sauce while still on the grill.  I used some of the Kolander Grubb's barbecue sauce we had on our pork sandwiches earlier this week.  

Katie couldn't wait for the chicken and asparagus.  She had peanut butter, pear, and yogurt for her dinner. 

Friday, 10/15/2010

Tonight we rid the fridge of some leftovers.   I need to fit a large crock pot into fridge overnight, and we needed to make some room.  We are hosting our potluck group from church in our home tomorrow, and I am making BBQ pulled pork.  Katie and I ate leftover meatloaf from last night.  Katie seemed to enjoy it as much tonight as last night.  I guess I'll increase how frequently I make this for our dinner.  When Ben got home, he finished off the last bbq chicken leg and some chili.  It was a fairly uneventful meal. 

Monday, 10/11/2010

Today I defrosted the whole chicken legs I got from the butcher shop a couple weeks ago.  For a two pound package, I expected five to six whole legs.  When the package finally defrosted, I found three very large legs.  Great!  That just meant fewer legs to have to turn during grilling:)  I rubbed the legs with our standard bbq rub, and Ben grilled them on indirect medium heat for 50 minutes.  I went a little lighter on the rub than I usually do.  Perhaps that was a good thing--they were outstanding!  Katie even ate chicken like a trooper tonight.  She kept asking for more:)

We made a Caesar salad to go with dinner tonight, but I just didn't like it.  I purchased the Fresh Express Supreme Caesear Salad Mix this week because the romaine lettuce didn't look good in the Classic Mix. So, it would seem that I really don't care for the flavor of the dressing or croutons that come with the supreme variety. 

Tuesday, 9/14/2010

Our good friends Laura and David invited us over for dinner tonight.  We were really looking forward to spending time with them and to a good meal.  They are great cooks:)  We were not disappointed.  They cooked a fantastic meal for us! Newly married, they had fun new cooking tools and equipment to test out, including an electric wok.  David manned the wok, into which he fried chunks of chicken that were marinated and then rolled in cornstarch.  The recipe for the chicken came from Laura's parents.  The chicken was served in an amazing sauce with pineapple chunks, green peppers, and carrots over white rice. Ben and I both went back for seconds--it was that good!

We had baked broccoli with crushed garlic as a side dish.  The recipe came from Cook's Illustrated.  If you've known Ben and me for a long time, you know that broccoli is one of the veggies we will not eat.  Laura and David couldn't remember if it was on our do-not-eat list and decided to go for it.  The broccoli dish was already in progress when we arrived, so I don't know if I know all of the ingredients in it.  I do know that it included crushed garlic and freshly cracked pepper.  The broccoli florets were cooked on a baking sheet at 500 degrees and came out a bit charred.  I think Ben and I both felt obligated to at least try the broccoli since we were guests at the meal.  Well, you will not believe it...we both liked it!  Ben even had a second helping.  It is silly to say, but I am very proud of us for trying something new.  Thank you Laura and David for gently pushing us out of our veggie comfort zone.  It worked:)

We were the photographers for David and Laura's wedding at the end of July.  Tonight we had the pleasure of delivering their final wedding photos to them.  We ended the evening by watching a slide show of the photos and enjoyed fresh peaches sliced on top of a sweetened biscuit with vanilla ice cream. The biscuit recipe also came from Laura's parents.  Other than Katie hollering "home" and "all done" at us, it was a great way to finish the night.  Laura said she would share the recipes with us.  I guess that means I need to buy a wok:)

Friday, 9/3/2010

Tonight Ben and I barbecued chicken drumsticks for Jenna and Matt.  I rubbed the drumsticks with our standard bbq rub.  Ben used Pendleton bbq sauce, because we were out of Jack Daniels.  It was a pretty good substitute.  We boiled several ears of corn to go along side the drumsticks. 

Ben and I stayed up late tonight so that we could watch The Blind Side.  What a fantastic movie!  It is definitely one we will own someday.  I don't remember the last time I saw a movie starring Sandra Bullock in which I forgot she was the actress.  I believe she earned the Oscar she won for that role.  Ben and I only have one more movie to watch that was nominated for the 2010 Best Motion Picture of the Year Academy Award--An Education.  I should make sure it is near the top of our Netflix queue.

Sunday, 8/1/2010

Mom and Dad left this afternoon. We can't thank them enough for everything they did around our house. Playing with Katie and Harlon, weeding the entire backyard terrace, picking blackberries and making a cobbler, washing endless dishes, helping with meals, unsqueaking Katie's bedroom door, babysitting, and homemade bread! We love you both:)

We enjoyed a tasty dinner with Jamie and Harlon. Ben grilled up barbecued chicken drumsticks, and I made a spinach, mandarin orange, and goat cheese salad. Here are a few photos from Jamie and Harlon's visit. Thanks for visiting friend!

Thursday, 7/29/2010

My mom, Katie and I went out to dinner and shopping with our good friend Sydney tonight. We chose Eats Market Cafe for dinner and were not disappointed. I had the "crazy good grilled cheese" sandwich with cheddar, swiss, a little stilton, apples, and bacon on rosemary bread. My mom had the curry chicken wrap, and Sydney had the "simply b.l.t." sandwich. I ordered a pb&j sandwich tower and apples for Katie. Like at home, she separated the pieces of bread and ate only the pb&j, no bread. At least she was entertained:) I just can't say enough about how accommodating this restaurant is for kids. The servers are kind and easy going and seem to anticipate what parents need for their kids. Sure wish they could help us with dinner every night:)

Monday, 7/12/2010

In a little less than two weeks, Ben and I will be the photographers for our friends Laura and David's wedding. They came over tonight so that we could discuss their shot list and have dinner. We grilled bbq chicken breasts and asparagus, and I made roasted garlic couscous to go with it. For dessert I made Flaky Cherry Cobbler which we topped with vanilla ice cream. It was heavenly--if I do say so myself:)

On our way back from Spokane last week, I purchased bing cherries at the Thorp Fruit & Antique Mall. After realizing Ben wouldn't eat any of them, it seemed like a good idea to make a dessert with them. There was no way I could eat them all before they went bad. I found a recipe for the cobbler in a cookbook called "Small-Batch Baking" by Debby Maugans Nakos. All of the recipes are created for 1-2 people. I purchased the cookbook years ago and this is the first time I have actually used it. Here's the recipe:

FLAKY CHERRY COBBLER

Makes 2 cobblers; serves 2

For the Filling:
2 cups fresh Bing cherries, pitted, or frozen sweet cherries, thawed and drained
1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

For the Topping and For Serving:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cold unsalted butter, diced
2 1/2 tablespoons cold buttermilk
2 1/2 tablespoons cold whipping (heavy) cream
Ice cream, sorbet, or topping of choice

Baking Dishes Required:
Two 1- to 1 1/2 cup ovenproof bowls or ramekins, or one 2-cup souffle dish or casserole

Directions:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease the baking dishes with unsalted butter and set them aside.
2. Make the filling: Place the cherries and the almond extract in a medium-size mixing bowl, and toss to mix. Add the sugar and cornstarch, and toss to blend. Transfer the cherry filling to the prepared baking dishes, dividing it evenly between them. Bake until the filling is hot, 15 minutes.
3. Make the topping while the filling is baking. Place the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl and whisk to blend well. Add the butter pieces and toss to coat the butter with the flour mixture. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal.
4. Combine the buttermilk and cream in a small bowl, and stire to blend. Sprinkle the buttermilk mixture over the crumb mixture, tossing it with a fork until the dough comes together.
5. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls over the hot filling to cover it. Sprinkle the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar evenly over the top. BAke until the topping is golden and cooked through, 23 t0 25 minutes; a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the topping should come out clean.
6. Remove the baking dishes from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve warm, with your choice of ice cream or topping.

I doubled this recipe, baking in two- 2 cup ramekins. I did some ingredient prep work during the day to make it easier to put the dessert together during the evening. I combined the dry ingredients in a bowl, diced up the butter and refrigerated it, combined the buttermilk and whipping cream, made up two bowls of sugar and cornstarch--one for each ramekin, and washed and pitted the cherries. When Laura and David arrived, I started putting the dessert together. By the time we were ready to eat dinner, the cherries had cooked down and the topping was ready to be spooned on. The baking was done about when we finished eating, leaving plenty of time for them to cool while we chatted and did a little cleanup. The timing was great and the dessert was fantastic. What a perfect summer treat!

I forgot to take a photo of the cobbler tonight. I think I will have to make it again in a couple weeks when we have more company. I'll be sure to get a photo that time.

Tuesday, 6/1/2010

We hosted our PEPS gathering this week. It was a little crazy trying to pull it together after just getting back from our vacation, but we did it:) I got a package of chicken drumsticks from Costco and rubbed them with our standard bbq rub. Ben worked the grill and got them perfectly cooked and coated with bbq sauce. They were spicy and a hit with the group! I opened up a package of mixed greens and put out a couple salad dressings for people to choose from. We had our first corn on the cob of the season. It will get better for sure, but it was still very tasty. And for dessert, we had angelfood cake with berries and whipped cream. I filled a clear salad bowl with 3 layers of berries- blueberries, sliced strawberries, and blackberries.

For the kids, I had Ben grill a couple plain chicken breasts, and I steamed some broccoli. Katie ate so much broccoli at the Chinese restaurant the other day that I was sure she would eat a bunch of it. Nope, she only played with it. Yes, it was all over the carpet. UGH!

Boy, those kids were soo cute! We hadn't been with the group for a month, so it was fun to see how much each of them has changed. I think they are almost to a point where they will play with each other. We put Katie and Ronan in our arm chair together for fun. Ronan has been known to feed Katie food during our gatherings:) Here's a photo of them together. They were grooving and clapping to Casper Babypants.

Sunday, 5/16/2010

Happy Birthday to my husband Ben!

We celebrated Ben's birthday tonight with our friends Ryan and Vanessa. I wanted to meet somewhere near Tacoma, half-way between our homes, so that none of us had to drive too far. I did lots of internet searching and finally found the Adriatic Grill. The restaurant's website was really nice, easy to navigate and full of great information. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time getting excited about an unfamiliar restaurant if it's website is poorly designed. Anyway, the menu had a lot of variety, the entree prices looked reasonable, and they advertised 1/2 priced bottles of wine on Sundays. Also, I was thrilled when Google Maps showed me a photo of the restaurant and it had a parking lot. Sweet! No street parking!

I made my reservation online and was pleased to receive a call a couple days ago to confirm. They had our table prepared for us when we arrived, complete with our requested high chair for Katie. They gave her some crayons and she actually used them to scribble with! Ok, she did try to eat them later on, but the nice waitress let us know they were soy based. We took advantage of the 1/2 price wine and shared a bottle of chianti. We toasted Ben for his birthday. Katie took notice and insisted on clinking (or clunking) her sippy cup into our glasses too. SO CUTE!!!

Ben ordered Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. I had Steelhead Salmon with Fresh Pesto off of their Fresh Sheet menu. Vanessa enjoyed the Pesto Shrimp pizza. Ryan tested the lasanga, and Katie had a cheese pizza. For dessert, Ben got a complimentary cup of ice cream with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. He shared that with Katie, who showed, once again, that she loved ice cream! Vanessa and I each had a chocolate amaretto cake with amaretto ice cream. Whoa, sooo rich and delicious. Neither one of us could finish our dessert even though we wanted to. Ben had Affogato Al Cafe- a white chocolate ice cream drizzled with espresso and topped with whipped sweet cream and chocolate covered espresso beans. Ryan enjoyed a dish of spumoni.

Bottom line: I would HIGHLY recommend visiting this restaurant if you live anywhere near Tacoma.

Sunday, 5/9/2010

Happy Mother's Day to me:) My morning started off with three lovely cards- one from Ben, one from Katie, and one from my mother-in-law Jennifer. Ben also gave me a beautiful video slideshow he put together with photos of me and Katie. It made me cry happy tears within seconds. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:


I know, that didn't have anything to do with food at all, but I wanted to share:)

We stopped for lunch in Cannon Beach, OR at the Lumberyard Rotisserie & Grill. We all shared a mac & cheese appetizer. Ben and I split a bbq chicken pizza and managed to save a couple pieces to have for dinner. It reheated well in the toaster oven. Katie had a plate of cheese, crackers and fresh fruit. Strawberries and grapes are now her favorite fruits. Spencer had a Spicy Prawn Quesadilla which he said was delicious. Ben and I ate at this restaurant a couple times on our honeymoon, almost 5 years ago. Good memories:)