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. 

Wednesday, 2/2/2011

We tried a new recipe tonight that we all loved!  I got it from the Cook's Country magazine years ago and finally gave it a shot.  The recipe would feed four just fine if you serve it over rice.  We did without the rice tonight and ended up with just three servings.  Here's the recipe:

STIR-FRIED BEEF WITH SNOW PEAS AND CASHEWS

Note: Put the raw flank steak in the freezer for 15 minutes to make slicing easier.  Working with the grain, cut the steak into three long strips, then cut each strip across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices.  Serve with steamed rice. 

Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds flank steak, cut into thin slices (see note above)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 pound snow peas, stem ends trimmed
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup unsalted roasted cashews, chopped

Directions: 
1.  Combine steak and soy sauce in medium bowl, cover, and refrigerate while preparing other ingredients.  Whisk hoisin sauce, water, and pepper flakes together in small bowl.
2.  Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking.  Add half of steak, break up clumps with wooden spoon, and cook, without stirring, for 1 minute.  Toss steak until browned around the edges, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to clean bowl.  Heat 2 teaspoons oil in skillet until just smoking and repeat with remaining beef.
3.  To now-empty skillet, add remaining 2 teaspoons oil and heat until just smoking.  Add snow peas and cook, stirring once or twice, for 2 minutes.  Clear center of pan and add garlic and ginger.  Cook, mashing garlic mixture with back of spatula, until fragrant, about 45 seconds.  Stir garlic mixture into snow peas, then toss in steak.  Whisk hoisin sauce mixture to recombine, pour into pan, and cook until thickened, about 1 minute.  Stir in cashews and transfer to platter.  Serve.

Tuesday, 1/25/2011

We had stir-fry for dinner tonight.  I followed a recipe that we used right after Thanksgiving that is intended to help you use left over turkey.  Instead of using turkey, I used cubed rotisserie chicken.  I added some chili oil to the skillet to bump up the heat, but I don't think I added enough.  When I reheat it tomorrow, I'll add some more. 

One great thing is that Katie ate the meal with us!  She started with slices of bell pepper while I was cooking, then ate a decent amount of noodles, chicken, peas and peppers during the meal.  She didn't finish her serving, but she did try everything in it. 

Monday, 1/3/2011

We had chicken and peas for dinner tonight.  I took a pound of chicken tenderloins and marinated them for three hours in Grill Mates Tomato Garlic Basil marinade.  I broiled them on high for 8 minutes.  Yum!  The tenderloins really take on the flavor of marinades exceptionally well.  We ate up the rest of the sugar snap peas I prepared yesterday with the following tasty dipping sauce.  I only made a half recipe of the sauce, because a little goes a long way.  Katie really liked the peas and only ate a few bites of chicken tonight.

SPICY LEMON DIPPING SAUCE- from Alton Brown's cookbook "I'm Just Here for the Food, volume 2.0"

Ingredients:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
Zest from one lemon, chopped fine
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayo, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and tarragon.  Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

It is very important to only use dry peas.  The dip won't stick to wet peas.  The dip also goes well with carrots and other fresh veggies. 

Sunday, 1/2/2011

Jennifer sent us home with left overs from our Christmas dinner.  Thanks Jennifer!  We reheated turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes and added sugar snap peas.  I boiled the peas for three minutes and then put them into a cold water and ice bath to stop the cooking.  All three of us enjoyed the peas.  Katie and Ben dipped their pea pods in ranch dressing.  I dipped mine in roasted red pepper hummus.  I really hoped it would be a good way to consume hummus without bread or chips.  But, I didn't like how the flavor of the peas and hummus went together. 

Ben and I spent yesterday and today cleaning and re-arranging our bedroom to make room for a treadmill.  I've been wanting one for at least a year and can't wait to get it!  I hope my excitement to get it transfers into an excitement to use it:)

Tuesday, 10/26/2010

I was going to grill pork chops tonight, but the pork did not defrost fast enough.  Rather than risk partially cooking the chops by using the microwave defrost feature, we pulled out plan b.   We grilled roasted pepper and asiago cheese chicken sausages and made up macaroni and cheese with peas for a side dish.  The sausages were really good.  Ben dipped his in cajun catsup, and Katie and I dipped in BBQ sauce.  Katie cleared her tray of the sausage we gave her very quickly.  She wanted "MORE."  I cut up some left over chicken from last night and she finished it off too.  I like meat-eating Katie:)

This was my first time purchasing a box of Kraft deluxe macaroni and cheese.  It was definitely better than the original, powdered cheese mix variety I am used to.  The noodle quality seemed to be a little better and the sauce was pre-mixed and in a packet.  All I had to do was squeeze it out of the packet and stir it into the hot pasta.  It worked like a charm and was a nice compliment to the sausages.  Katie ate a good helping of the mac and cheese and peas too.  It was a good meal.

The best part of the evening, so far, is that when we took her upstairs for her post-dinner diaper change, she was ready to go to sleep.  She hit the sack without a peep a good 30-45 minutes early tonight.  Wow!  Thanks Katie:)

 In other news, my CDs should be ready to ship out tomorrow!!!

Thursday, 8/19/2010

Today was quite busy for Katie and me.  We took a nice long walk with our friend Nancy this morning.  Then I worked while Katie took a 3.5 hour nap!!!  I really think she is in a growth spurt.  After lunch, we dashed off to Costco and Fred Meyer for a few errands.  I wasn't going to be getting home in time to make anything for dinner, so I picked up some fried chicken at the deli counter.  It was fine fried chicken, no QFC to be sure, but fine.  Katie ate a few bites of chicken, but mainly snacked on sugar snap peas.  I dipped some of my chicken in salsa.  Katie decided that her peas should also be dipped in salsa.  I love that little girl:)  

After dinner we said a quick "hi, bye" to Ben and drove off for a Casper Babypants concert in a West Seattle park.  We met our PEPS friends there and had a great time.  Katie danced for a good 1/2 hour straight.  She shared crackers with Ari.  She took crackers from Jackson.  She kissed Oliver on the cheek.  She gave lots of hi-fives and made cheesy smiles.  And, she touched Jackson's belly button!  It was a fun night to be her mom:) 

Friday, 6/11/2010

Katie was walking around the house shouting "Da-da" around 4pm. I decided to call Ben at work so that she could hear his voice. After she was done "talking" with Ben, he and I opted to go out for dinner rather than eat at home. Katie and I picked up Ben from work and headed to Maggie Bluff's. We had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated. During that time, Katie grabbed my iPod out of my purse and was playing with it. All of a sudden, she bolted towards the marina. Who knew she could move that fast?!? Ben and I both started after her, but he got to her first. They walked along the path together; it was very cute:)

We ordered fish and chips for Katie, since she has been eating fish so well in recent weeks. We sacrificed our own health by eating her chips for her;) Ben and I each got a salad and then opted to share a couple appetizers. Ben was brave and ordered the Broadway Pea Salad- sweet peas, water chestnuts, sugar snap peas and bacon tossed with creamy pepper dressing. He didn't like it at all. The dressing was not what he expected and it had lots of onions in it which were not included in the salad description. So, I shared my caesar with him. It was an ok salad.

The appetizers we shared were the Buffalo Chicken Wings and the Basket o' Ribs. The wings were really good in my opinion. They were deep fried, but not breaded. They had some heat, but not enough that my nose ran. It was nice to actually be able to taste the chicken and not have my tastebuds messed up by how hot the spice was. Ben would have preferred them to be breaded, but agreed that the flavor was good. The ribs were ok. I really like the Kalbi flavoring. Unfortunately, I don't think I chose pieces that had the best quality meat on them. I've purchased much better from the Fred Meyer butcher case. They were still good, but I would have been happier if the meat had been more tender.

It was a lovely evening at the marina. By the time we got home, it was time to put Katie to bed. Ah, what a great Friday night!

Wednesday, 3/31/2010

First of all, Happy 30th Birthday to my brother Matt!

And now, onto dinner. Surprise, surprise, we had leftover Chicken Carbonara. Still not enough sauce, but tasty just the same. Thankfully Katie enjoyed it more tonight than she did last night. She ate several rounds of chicken and peas. She seemed to have a hard time with the spaghetti. Perhaps it was a bit too al dente for her. Anyway, she choked on it and then started throwing it on the floor. A clear sign she was done with it.

Katie has taken to dinner theater. Check out her story telling skills in this cute video.

Tuesday, 3/30/2010

CHICKEN CARBONARA
from Cuisine At Home- Weeknight Menus

Whisk Together:
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
2 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Saute:
1/2 lb. thick-slicked bacon, diced

Add & Saute:
1 lb. chicken tenders, seasoned with salt & pepper
(I used whole chicken breasts, cut them into tender sizes and pounded them until they were flat and about a 1/2 inch thick)

Deglaze & Reduce:
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cook; Drain with:
12 ounces dry spaghetti
1 cup frozen peas

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti.
Whisk together Parmesan, eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
Saute bacon in a large saute pan until crisp. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate; pour off all but 1 T. drippings.
Add chicken; saute 4 minutes per side; transfer to the plate with the bacon.
Deglaze the pan with wine, broth, and juice, scraping up any bits on the bottom. Reduce by half, 2-3 minutes.
Cook spaghetti in boiling water, stirring often. Drain pasta into a colander with the frozen peas. Shake pasta to remove excess water. Combine the bacon, chicken, and wine mixture with the egg mixture. Add hot pasta and toss to coat.
Serve immediately.

This was my first time making carbonara with this recipe. It's a keeper. Usually when I make spaghetti carbonara no peas or chicken are included; I liked the change. Other than using a different cut of chicken (noted in the recipe), I followed the directions exactly. The next time I make it, I will half the spaghetti. Both Ben and I would have liked more sauce.

Katie was a light eater tonight, only having a few peas and a little chicken. I bet she will like the leftovers tomorrow night.

Here's a photo of the cooked, crispy bacon. Just for fun!