Wednesday, 4/7/2010

FOIL-WRAPPED GINGER CHICKEN

Prep & cook time: 1.5 hours, polus at least 1 hour of chilling time

Makes 4 servings

1 tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
One 1-in. piece ginger, peeled and cut into thinnest possible slivers
1 lb. boned, skinned chicken thigh meat, cut into bite-size pieces and strips
2 green onions, finely sliced
Ground black pepper

1. In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger. Add chicken, toss to coat, cover, and chill for at least 1 hours and up to overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 375. Lay out 8 pieces of aluminum foil, 6-8 in. long each. Put 1/8 of the marinated chicken in the middle of each. Top chicken with green onions and sprinkle with pepper. Fold 1 side of foil over the chicken to cover, fold opposite side of foild over first fold, and then fold in each end once to seal and create a little packet.

3. Lay packets on a foil or parchment lined rimmed baking sheet (packets will lead while cooking, and the marinade is difficult to clean up once it cooks onto a pan). Bake until chicken is cooked through and marinade is reduced and starting to carmelize in each packet, 45-60 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

I served mine with a simple spinach salad and white rice, flavored with chicken broth and minced garlic.

Garlic White Rice

1 cup white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat the vegetable oil in the bottom of a pan on medium. Add garlic until fragrant. Add rice; stir to combine with the garlic and oil. Add broth and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to lowest setting and cover. Cook for 20 minutes...don't remove the lid.

I got this recipe from a magazine, but am not sure which one. The recipe said it would yield 8 servings. I don't know about you, but 2 oz of meat is not enough for me. I think 4 servings is more realistic. It also called for 1 tbsp of regular soy sauce and 1 tsp of dark soy sauce. I only had the regular kind so I just upped the amount I put in to cover for my lack of dark soy sauce. The dish tastes great without the dark variety...save yourself the trip to the store:)

I was thankful to share this meal with my good friend Sydney. She came over to watch Katie for me while I went to a meeting at church. What a treat for both of us!

Tuesday, 4/6/2010

Ben and I joined a PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) group when Katie was just over one month old. We spent 12 weeks with a facilitator and have since then gathered every other week on our own. There are 5 couples in our group, each with one child about Katie's age, and we rotate between our 5 homes.

Tonight Katie and I went over to Oliver's house for Zeeks Pizza and homemade apple crisp w/ice cream. I had a slice of pepperoni and a slice of Cherry Bomb which has Italian sausage and sweet-hot roasted red peppers on it. Soo tasty! Katie ate some pork and spring vegetable w/pasta baby food before we left our house. Once at Oliver's house she had a little of my pizza, lots of cheese, and a few random crackers dropped by the other kids. It is so much fun to watch these 5 little people walking around, playing, eating, chatting near each other. They don't interact with each other much yet. There were a couple outbursts when food or sippy cups were returned to their owners, but all in all a very fun night.

Ben is out of town on a business trip and told me he had some okay Thai food. Huntsville, Alabama is probably not the best place for good Thai.

Monday, 4/5/2010

With Easter dishes still to be done, I wasn't up for cooking or even reheating tonight. After picking up groceries for the week, I decided to get some food to go at Panda Express. For my 2 entree plate, I chose Orange Chicken and Beijing Beef with steamed rice. It is a generous portion of food for just $6.33.

Now, I got the Orange Chicken because I had enjoyed a bite or two off of Ben's plate a couple months ago. I enjoyed it again tonight, but realized that each piece has very little chicken in it. Mainly batter covered in a yummy sauce with little bits of chicken in it. The beef was tasty, but seemed overcooked. All in all the food is good, but I think I will try different entrees next time.

Sunday, 4/4/2010

HAPPY EASTER!




















Christ the Lord is risen today. Let's celebrate with FOOD!

Our Easter menu today: Pork Roast, Mini Potatoes with Brie and Smoked Bacon, Grilled Asparagus, Corn & Carrot Muffins, Peppercorn rolls, Lemon Cake, and wine:)

I am blessed to have had my loved ones and friends with me today to share this meal: Ben, Katie, Jennifer, Spencer, LeeAnne, and Ken. Thank you all for helping to prepare it!

PORK ROAST
1 Boston butt or pork shoulder roast (anywhere from 2-6 pounds)
1 large onion, quartered and layers separated
Kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder

Coat the bottom of a crock pot with a generous amount of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Set the pork roast inside and apply a generous sprinkling of the same three ingredients to the other sides of the roast. Don't worry, it would be hard to put too much on. Cover the roast with the onion layers. Set the crock pot to cook on low for 9-11 hours.

Pull out of the pot and enjoy! Just try to get it to the table without having a nibble;) This is how we start our bbq pulled pork. We just stopped before we added the sauce and cooked for another hour.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS
Preheat grill to Medium.

Prepare asparagus by cutting off the ends of the stems or by popping them at the natural break points. Wash and then toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook on Medium Direct for 8 minutes, turning to avoid burning. A little charring is ok.

MINI BAKED POTATOES W/ BRIE AND SMOKED BACON
kosher salt
20 new potatoes (we learned that new potatoes are not a certain variety, they are just young potatoes that have thinner peels)
5 slices thick-cut bacon
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 cup spring onions, chopped
4 oz. Brie
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425. Place a thin layer of kosher salt on a baking tray. Place potatoes on top and cook for 30 minutes.
2. Allow to cool slightly. Slice off the tops of the potatoes lengthwise, and scoop out the middle with a teaspoon or melon baller.
3. Dice and fry bacon. Remove bacon, add diced onions to the pan and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved bacon, to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix in with scooped-out potato.
5. Spoon into shells. Serve warm.

We were actually a bit apprehensive about this recipe. Ben and I have never been fans of Brie. But, we were willing to give it a shot. It was a recipe Ben's mom found in People magazine. It is an Irish dish made at the Clarence Hotel in Dublin, owned by U2's Bono and the Edge. The potatoes looked beautiful when done and were not bad, but lacked the strong flavors we expected. The Brie definitely wasn't a problem.

We had two breads and two wines with our meal. I bought peppercorn foccocia rolls and Ken and Lee Anne made yummy carrot and corn muffins. We opened another bottle of the Bogle Petite Sirah. And, Ken and Lee Anne brought a delicious bottle of 2003 Rosé of Sangiovese by Barnard Griffin. They said it was supposed to pair well with pork. We were all very thankful that it did!

And for dessert, a Lucious Lemon Daisy Cake. The recipe came with a beautiful Daisy Bundt Pan we received as a wedding gift. It has cream cheese in it which makes the cake very moist and creamy. The whole cake is glazed with a sugar, lemon juice, butter drizzle.

Happy Easter!

Saturday, 4/3/2010

We ran a couple errands in Tukwilla this afternoon and stopped at Duke's Chowder House Southcenter for dinner. We've been to that location twice and so far we have not had to wait to be seated. That is a really good thing when dining with a 15 month old. All four of us, Ben's mom and brother joined us, had a fish & chips & chowder combo. Ben and his mom had halibut and his brother and I had the cod. His mom had a cup of the Dungeness Crab & Bourbon Chowder while the rest of us had the Cajun Chicken Corn Chowder. Those chowders are delicious. We only wish we had the time to figure out how to make them. YUM!

We ordered chicken fingers for Katie with a side of ranch dressing. She seems to really like dipping her food into sauces and purees, so I thought it would be fun to let her dip her chicken in it. NOT a good idea in a restaurant setting. First the hand holding the chicken was dipped in so far that her fingers were coated with it. And when that wasn't good enough, the empty hand was plunged in. Thankfully we brought a washcloth and were able to get her cleaned up and the ranch removed before she made a real mess of the place.

If you live near Seattle and like chowder, I highly recommend you check out Duke's. The chowder truly is the best I've ever had.

Friday, 4/2/2010

Ben's mom Jennifer drove up from Portland this afternoon to spend the Easter weekend with us. She arrived just after 6pm, just in time for dinner. I made Chili Macaroni Hamburger Helper. It was my first time making that flavor of H.H. Knowing that flavor is usually pretty mild, I added extra chili powder, cayanne pepper, and cumin to the hamburger. Thanks Ben for the suggestions;) Turned out they were good choices and the flavor was better than your average H.H.

Now, I must say that I made the H.H. around 5:30 in order to feed Katie. I left the skillet on low with the lid on in order to keep it warm for myself and Jennifer. I think the hamburger dried out a bit and the macaroni was a little too soft as a result. But in the end, Katie was happy because she got to eat when she was hungry. And, at least the flavor was good:)

Thursday, 4/1/2010

It was left over Chicken Carbonara for us, same story as last night. But it is a different night...it's Maundy-Thursday. I'd like to say a little bit about the food my soul received this evening.

I played the piano for our church service tonight. I probably would not have gone if there hadn't been a need for someone to fill in. I'm so glad I went. During the service, we shared the sacrament of communion and the practice of feet and hand washing. We took turns pouring water over each other's feet or hands and drying them with towels. Each of us who wanted to participate had an opportunity to pour the water and dry the feet as well as have our feet washed. Each of us was served. Each of us served.

As the water was poured from a pitcher into a basin, these are the words that were said:

Leader: Bless this water, that it may be a sign of your cleansing forgiveness.
ALL: Bless me with this water, O God, that I may be immersed in a grace deeper than my sin.

It is quite a scene to imagine....Jesus during the last days of his life, taking the time to be a servant to those who followed him; his friends; his disciples. Washing dirty feet...what a lowly chore. But he did so to set the example for us to serve others as he did.

Here is the Prayer of Thanksgiving we read together:

O God, we give you thanks for the gift of Christ Jesus, light of your own light, Word of your very own Word. We thank you for the splendor of his life of service. We thank you for symbols of love and humility that remind us of him and his gift to us. Strengthen us as we pray for the service to which you call us. May we find in serving others, in acts of mercy, the fullness of life that we have in Christ Jesus who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives in holy light forever, Amen.

Again, I'm so glad I went.