July 20, 2011- Impossible Taco Pie

Our church is a sponsor of Family Promise, an organization which helps homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence.  This week we hosted a family of 7-- mom, dad, 4-yr-old girl, 3-yr-old boy, 1-yr-old boy, and twin 2-month olds.  I cannot even imagine having that many children, let alone having them all under the age of 4 and without a home to take care of them in.  This family from Eritrea, a country just North of Ethiopia, was very happy and friendly, despite their difficult situation. I have to admit that I had not heard of the country before this week.  

Katie and I, along with our friend Nancy and her niece, provided dinner for this family at the church tonight.  I made two Impossible Taco Pies.  The five adults and four children consumed 1.5 of the pies I made.  Guess what Katie and I will be eating tomorrow night? :)  Nancy made a wonderful salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds (also called pepita), avocados, and peaches.  The dressing for the salad was delicious too, but I can't tell you what it was made of.  She also made a divine chocolate cake with fresh ginger in it.  Topped with fresh, homemade whipped cream, that cake was a winner. 

After the meal concluded, the kids ran around, played, danced, and colored together for more than an hour.  It was great to see Katie playing with them.  She desperately wanted to be included and didn't want to go home. 

July 19, 2011- Marinated Flank Steak

Katie and I went to Jen, Andy, and Jackson's house for our PEPS gathering tonight.  Since we hosted last time, we didn't have to take anything for the meal this time.  Jen marinated and grilled flank steak that was tender and full of flavor.  She mentioned that the marinade recipe included soy sauce, garlic, cumin, and several other ingredients I don't remember now.  We also had a caesar salad, a couscous salad, and peach cobbler with ice cream along with the meal.  Yum!  

July 18, 2011- Hot Dogs and Cheese Puffs

Tonight I will not win any awards for feeding my child the healthiest foods.  But, she ate well, and we were both happy at the end of the meal.  I grilled Hebrew National hot dogs and served them with Cheetos Puffs.  I sure do love those!  She also had a little bit of cheddar cheese and a bowl of fresh berries.  She didn't nap today and was definitely looking tired while she ate.  Just when I thought she would say she was finished, she asked for more food.  I'm glad I stalled for a bit, but she did end up saying she was done.  

Ben called a little after 6pm, and we got to talk with him for a while.  His first meeting, the big one, went very well.  Whoo hoo!  After the call, I read Katie one more book and took her up to bed.  In less than five minutes she was out.  I'm so thankful that her lack of afternoon nap didn't turn into a terrible bed time.  And now, it's 7:10 and I have the whole evening to myself.  Hmmm, perhaps I have time for a little crafting, reading, TV, ice cream, and extra sleep:) 

July 17, 2011- Chicken Enchiladas

This morning Ben flew off to Maine for a week of business meetings.  My goal for the week is to keep Katie busy and happy.  I guess that should be my goal every week, but it is most important without Ben to back up my lack of patience at the end of each day.  My strategy is to limit the battles I pick with Katie to those things that will lead to someone or something being hurt or damaged, behaviors that we never stand for, and blatant defiance.  As far as food goes, I'm going to let her dictate what she wants to eat.  It will definitely make my life easier this week.  The last thing I want is for Ben to come home to a cranky, exhausted wife.

For dinner, I reheated the left over enchilada from earlier this week.  I sat Katie on my lap and let her be in charge of the fork as much as possible.  She "helped" me cut it into small bites and even let her feed me a couple times.  She thought that was a hoot.  In the end, we were both full and still happy.  Great! 

July 16, 2011- Studio Chicken in Phyllo

A couple weeks ago my friend Jamie sent me a message to see how I was doing.  She told me she missed seeing new recipes on my blog.  She was right--I wasn't trying anything new.  I hadn't realized how much I had gotten stuck in a rut.  This week I made sure to work something new into my menu.  I was just winging it on the enchiladas last night, but tonight I planned something special:)

For one of my bridal showers over six years ago, I got a lovely little cookbook called "A Taste for Love: A Romantic Cookbook for Two" by Elizabeth M. Harbison and Mary McGowan.  I've only used it a couple times, but found a recipe in it this week that I thought I would be brave and try.  The bravery was needed for two things.  1- It calls for mustard which I usually don't like.  2- It is made with phyllo dough, which I've never used before. 

Before I give you the recipe, I have to say that I did the phyllo dough all wrong, but it tasted fine anyway.  Also, I was nervous about the mustard, but the tarragon and cream made a huge difference.  I really liked it!  It's a very rich entree, so we won't be making it frequently.  But, we liked it enough to make again.  Maybe quarterly:)  Okay, here's the recipe.

STUDIO CHICKEN IN PHYLLO

Purchase phyllo dough in the frozen food section of your grocery store.  Be sure to keep it moist by covering it with a damp towel as you are working with it or it will dry and crumble in your hands.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, boneless, skinless and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon peanut oil

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 cup country Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

10 phyllo sheets

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place the chicken pieces, seasoned salt, and flour in a 1-quart plastic bag.  Close the bag and shake until the chicken pieces are coated.

3. Over medium-heat, bring the oil to bubbling in a small saute pan.  Place the chicken pieces in the pan and saute until the juices no longer run pink, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a warm plate and keep it warm.

4. Reduce the heat to medium.  Whisk the mustard into the chicken drippings.  Add the tarragon and reduce slightly.  Whisk in the cream, blending it all thoroughly.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is reduced by one fourth.  Add the chicken to sauce, remove from the heat, and set aside.

5. Brush a shallow 1-quart casserole with melted butter.  Lay 1 phyllo sheet into the casserole, patting to fit sides.  Brush it down with the melted butter.  Repeat the process with 4 more phyllo sheets.  Fill the casserole with the chicken mixture.  Layer 5 more phyllo sheets on top of chicken, buttering between each sheet. 

6. Trim excess phyllo to within 1 inch of dish edge.  Tuck the phyllo edges under and brush with butter. 

7. Bake for 15 minutes, or until top is crisply browned.

Notes:

1. As I mentioned above, I've never worked with phyllo dough before.  I knew that it was in the freezer and that it needed to be kept moist, but I didn't think to read the box to see that it should be thawed for two hours before using.  Instead, I opened up the box and the plastic bag it came in and started to unroll it.  Yeah...that wasn't the right thing to do.  It just cracked and crumbled apart.  Not having two hours to thaw it, I decided to just go with it.  I took the thin, somewhat frozen pieces and layered them to represent full sheets of dough.  It was a little difficult to brush on the butter since the dough kept wanted to come up with the brush, but I got it to work.

2. I used olive oil since I didn't have any peanut oil.  The substitution worked just fine.  

3. I didn't have a 1 quart dish shallow dish, so I used a 1.5 quart dish with 3 inch sides.  

4. I don't know what makes a dijon mustard "country."  I just bought one that looked more interesting in texture than Grey Poupon.  

5. The 6th step in the instructions didn't make sense to me.  I just put on the 5 layers of phyllo, brushed with butter between each layer, and pushed down the edges so that they wouldn't get crispy.  It seemed to work just fine. 

July 15, 2011- Chicken Enchiladas

I make enchiladas for the first time tonight.  I didn't do much research before deciding to try this.  They weren't bad, but I definitely could work on improving them.  If you have any great techniques or recipes you like for enchiladas, please send them my way:)  While he's never made them for me before, Ben told me during dinner that he usually doesn't mix sauce in with the chicken.  He has only poured it over the top before.  Here's how I made them:

1. I prepped a casserole dish with a little bit of non-stick spray and pre-heated the oven to 375 degrees
2. I took the rotisserie chicken that I shredded last night, heated it in a skillet, added 3/4 cup of mild enchilada sauce and a cup of cheese. 
3. I spooned the chicken/sauce/cheese mixture into three wheat tortillas and placed them into the casserole dish, seam side down.
4. I pour the rest of the can of sauce over the tortillas and topped with more shredded cheese. 
5. The enchiladas baked for 25 minutes.

Katie didn't have a big lunch, so I was not surprised when she wanted to eat dinner before the enchiladas were cooked.  She asked for and ate a bowl of oatmeal along with some cheddar cheese before Ben came home.  When Ben and I started to eat, she came over to ask "Whatcha doin?"  I told her I was eating and asked if she wanted a bite.  To my surprise, she said yes.  And then she said "I like that" and asked to be up on my lap.  There she sat for the rest of the meal, eating my enchilada.  I guess she was still hungry:)

July 14, 2011- Rotisserie Chicken & Salad

I had planned on buying a rotisserie chicken at Fred Meyer on Monday, but we were there too early to get one.  We went to Safeway, which is a bit closer to our house, to pick one up this afternoon after Katie's nap.  It was a fantastic chicken.  Much better than Fred Meyer's if you ask our family.  The chicken was moist and full of flavor.   It was definitely worth the extra dollar or two it costs to buy the Safeway chicken instead of the Fred Meyer one.  I served a salad made of butter lettuce, raspberries, and glazed walnuts for our side dish.  Katie had chicken and raspberries.

After dinner,  I removed and shredded the remaining meat from the chicken bones.  I'll end up using that in a meal tomorrow.