Hell…and Maybe a Snapple

The hard drive on my desktop computer died last week. This is the second time this has happened since the computer was purchased only 18 months ago! I’m not going to name the maker of the computer, but it rhymes with Hell. Appropriate, isn’t it?

Did I mention that the computer has ALL of my photographs on it and lots of my recipes? Oh yeah, it does. And no, I didn’t back up all of the pictures on a zip drive because, seriously, who uses zip drives anymore??

If “Hell” doesn’t send me a new hard drive, which would be the third in 18 months, then I’ll have to seriously think about buying a new computer. Maybe I’ll get the one that rhymes with…Snapple. Yes, the Snapple computer should work. I certainly don’t think that Snapples would run out of juice so quickly (I know, it’s a bad pun).

EASY Chicken Enchiladas

Easy Chicken Enchiladas
Serves 2-3

1 lb. ground chicken
1 T vegetable oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can of red enchilada sauce
1 can green chiles
6 corn tortillas
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pyrex baking dish with cooking spray, and set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add onions and garlic. Saute until onions become translucent and soft. Add ground chicken. Once chicken is browned, drain excess liquid, if any. Add can of enchilada sauce to the pan. Heat through. Mix in the green chiles.

To assemble the enchiladas: heat each tortilla in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften it, then add some of the chicken-sauce mixture inside the center of each tortilla and roll it up. Place it in the baking dish. Repeat this process until you have all of the tortillas rolled and placed in the baking dish. Once completed, spoon some of the sauce on top of the tortillas. Then add the shredded cheese and place in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, just until the cheese starts to melt.

Enjoy!

Caper and Olive Pasta

Caper and Olive Pasta
Serves 2





1 can whole tomatoes
¼ cup dry white wine
1 garlic clove
2 T olive oil
3 or 4 chopped green olives
2 T capers
½ lb linguine or spaghetti
1 cup feta

Add first three ingredients in blender. Heat oil in saucepan on medium high heat and add tomato mixture (reserve ½ cup of sauce) with olives. Stirring for about 6 minutes until thickened.

Cook ½ lb linguine or spaghetti. Reserve ¼ cup pasta liquid after draining.

Add pasta, ¼ cup coarsely chopped basil and ¼ cup parsley to tomato sauce. Coat pasta with sauce, adding pasta water if necessary. Add reserve ½ cup sauce and half of feta cheese. Place pasta in large bowl and sprinkle rest of cheese.

Enjoy!

photo phanatic!

Hi All,

Since I started this food blog, I've really become interested in photography, and not only food photography. This new passion of mine is still in its embryonic stages, and needless to say, my photographs are nowhere near the quality of those of The Pioneer Woman or Dianthus. Nevertheless, I am trying to cultivate this new interest the best that I can. That being said, if you scroll down on the right hand side of this page, you can check out my photos on flickr. These are just a few of the random photos that I have taken. I'll add some more pictures as my photography skills further develop.

Enjoy!!

Perfect Roast Chicken

One time, I put a chicken in the oven to let it roast. I basted the fowl on-and-off for one hour. After an hour, it looked pretty, and good enough to eat. I removed it from the oven. I cut into the breast. It was completely raw.

I have since purchased a meat thermometer.

Perfect Roast Chicken
Serves 4

1 (3 3/4-pound) whole roasting chicken
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 carrots, peeled and halved
4 stalks celery, halved
1 onion, quartered

Preheat oven to 375°.

To prepare chicken, remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken; trim excess fat. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breasts and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat.

Combine butter and next 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl. Rub seasoning mixture under loosened skin and over breasts and drumsticks. Tie ends of legs together with twine. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under chicken. Place carrots, celery, and onion in a single layer in a roasting pan. Place chicken, breast side up, on top of vegetables.

Bake at 375° for 40 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 450°, and bake an additional 20 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the meaty part of thigh registers 170°. Using tongs or insulated rubber gloves, remove chicken from pan, tilting slightly to drain juices. Let stand 15 minutes.

Courtesy of Cooking Light

Yummy Dessert

Last weekend, M and I hosted a dinner party at the house. A lovely little affair with some of our favorite people. The fall menu included the maple cider salad (which I posted below), roasted carrots and butternut squash, mashed potatoes, roast chicken, and for dessert, puff pastry ice cream sandwiches. It was good stuff.

The dessert was probably my favorite part of the dinner, besides the company, of course. I have the worst (or best, depending on how you look at it) sweet tooth. These puff pastry ice cream sandwiches were the easiest dessert to make, and very tasty...

Puff Pastry Ice Cream Sandwiches
Serves 6
Courtesy of YumSugar

1 package of frozen puff pastry sheets
1 container of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
2 T sugar
1 egg white
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Thaw one sheet of the frozen puff pastry. There will be two natural folds in the puff pastry sheet, cut along those folds. You should have three long pieces of puff pastry at this point. Cut each of the long pieces into four small squares. Brush each square with egg white, then sprinkle with sugar and sliced almonds. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Let cool.

To assemble the ice cream sandwiches, place one to two scoops of the ice cream between two pieces of puff pastry. That's it!

Chow down!

Maple Cider Spinach Salad

Maple Cider Spinach Salad
Serves 4

Salad
10 oz. spinach bag
1 granny smith apple, sliced thinly
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

Maple Cider Dressing
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
pinch of salt

Lay spinach on a flat tray, add thinly sliced apples, walnuts and blue cheese on top.

For the dressing, heat the maple syrup in a small saucepan. In a separate small bowl, add the cider vinegar, and whisk in the oil. Once the syrup is heated, whisk it into the vinegar/oil mixture. Add the pinch of salt, and drizzle over the salad.

Enjoy!