Estoy Aqui!

Don't worry, I haven't left you all alone. The past few days have been rather busy, not to mention I have a rather large writing project that I am attempting to complete.

Yesterday, with the help of my wonderful husband, I completed several tasty dishes to enjoy over the next few days. I will most assuredly be sharing those with you very soon. However, until then, I want to encourage you to go to Jessica's site. She decided to share a delicious looked recipe today.

Also, I'm a little appalled, people, at the results of the last poll. Really? No one likes to cook rice?!?! I am greatly saddened by this. Well, let's see if this week's poll has any better results.

This is From a Can?

Tonight we opened up another one of our label free cans. To my surprise it wasn't just chicken noodle soup, but chicken noodle soup with rice! You know of my love of rice by now. Well, when I saw rice in that can, I just had to have more rice. In the process of this, I created a new meal, one that my husband and I loved! It's incredibly easy as well, so give it a try!

Take two cans of Chicken Noodle soup, the kind with rice. Make a package of chicken flavored instant rice. When the rice is cooked, mix with the soup, stirring occasionally. Let the mixture simmer and boil, while continuing to stir. The longer you let it boil, the thicker it will become. I also added a little bit of frozen broccoli for color.
While putting this mixture together, and letting it cook, take some boneless, skinless, chicken breast and cook it. I used two pieces for two people. I even took the super easy route and cooked them completely in the microwave! When the chicken is cooked, pour the rice mixture onto the chicken breast and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. I added parsley for looks. When everything is together, put the chicken and rice into the oven at 425 degrees. Cook until the cheese is melted and even a little crusty.

Wa-La!

A Cup of Tea

When it comes to a cup of tea, I think that I would have to agree with C.S. Lewis. He said, "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. "

I've been drinking good, sweet, ice tea for as long as I can remember. It was always the common drink at the Smith household. There was never unsweetened tea until health reasons called for a pitcher of sweet and a pitched of unsweetened.

As I got older, I learned to enjoy a nice cup of hot tea. Since coffee doesn't taste as good as it smells, I had to find something on those early mornings in the office. A cup of hot tea was just the ticket. My favorite tea, I just have to share. It's Enligsh Breakfast Tea. It always had just enough of a kick to stop me from falling asleep at my desk. So, if you have the chance, grab a nice hot cup of the tea, and enjoy!

My Meatloaf

You may remember last week I made meatloaf and froze it. This was just fine, except I didn't have a recipe, and I had never made meatloaf before. Well,I have good news! After an odd smelling oven, a burnt hand, and pasta problems, we had a lovely meal of comfort foods yesterday. The meatloaf ended up tasting delicious, so I'll share my "super secret" recipe with you.

Mix 1 1/2 lb of uncooked ground beef in a bowl with a package of crushed saltine crackers. Add 3-4 eggs, chopped green peppers, chopped onions, salt, pepper, and seasoned salt. The best way to mix it is with your bare hands. It's messy, but fun! Make sure every thing is mixed well, and then mold into a loaf type shape. You could mold it into a star shape, but then you would have to call it meatstar.

Place the loaf (or star) into a pan and cook at 375 F, until the middle is thoroughly cooked and doesn't show any pinkness. Then enjoy it! We enjoyed ours with green beans, tomatoes, and homemade macaroni and cheese. Yummy!

Meatloaf is good as a leftover too! My dad loves a cold slice of meatloaf on some bread with mayonnaise.

Also, check out the new poll, and vote!

Detestable Dusting

It's been a few days, since I've written, but I have company. Even though that's the case, I wanted to share the results of our poll! Obviously you all hate dusting the most, which I find very interesting. I mean, I don't like dusting, but I hate washing dishes and doing laundry much more. Half of the voters said that they found dusting detestable.

On another note, I'm enjoying having family here, and also enjoying breaking into that freezer full of food. Tuesday, to celebrate my parents' 25th anniversary, we had lasagna and fresh green beans.

Chicken: One if By Land, Two if By Sea

Among my repertoire of food loves, we find something that may not be such a fanciful feast. I love tuna, at least I think so. Let me rephrase. I love tuna from a can. I've never had real tuna. I like it with mayonnaise or just straight from the can. When I lived with my parents, there were only certain times that I could eat tuna, because my dad hates it, even the smell of it.

Today I decided to enjoy a tuna salad sandwich. I wanted to fix two cans of the tuna, so that I would have enough for tomorrow. I opened up the first can. Ok, no problem. Then I grabbed the second can. This can was one that had no label, thanks to a pre-wedding shivaree gift. I opened it up to find not tuna, but chicken. I had never had chicken from a can before.

Everyone knows that tuna is just the chicken of the sea, so I figured that it couldn't hurt to just go ahead and mix the two. Well, I was right! It was actually pretty good. I got the taste of tuna, but it wasn't as strong smelling and tasting. So, my new experience, eating chicken from a can, turned out to be a rather good one.

Arroz, Riz, Pис, Orez, Rice

I cannot think of a more universal food than rice. Growing up, I used to think of rice as a Chinese dish, and I hated Chinese food. There was no way that stuff was going into my mouth. Sometimes my mom would make rice, the plain white kind, and I would gag at the sight of it. The thought of those slimy little things in my mouth was too much to handle. I even prayed when I was little, "God, don't make me a missionary to China. I'll starve!"

Then, I went to Romania. Guess what was put on my plate, yep it was rice. I couldn't not eat it. That would have been rude, not to mention I would have been hungry later. El Salvador was next in my international travels, and rice once again found it's way onto my plate and into my stomach. I'm not exactly sure what happened next, but before I knew it, I was rice crazy. Just ask my husband, who declared that I could not make rice in the first four months of our marriage. I talked him out of that, though.

I love rice, especially with chicken. It's just so darn delectable. My favorite is the chicken and rice casserole, like the one I made last Saturday. Here's a quick, easy, and delicious recipe!

I buy the cheap, quick and easy packets of rice. I think the best flavors to use in the casserole are the cheddar broccoli, or the chicken flavored ones. I usually make two packets for the casserole. I also use three or four pieces of boneless, skinless, chicken breast. I cut it into chunks. If I am in a special hurry I even cook the the chicken in the microwave after cubing.

When the rice and chicken are cooked, I mix them together in the sauce pan, and then add a can of cream of mushroom soup. (If I've used the chicken flavored rice, I sometimes add peas or broccoli to the mix.) Heat the mixture until it is all warm, stirring occasionally. If I am ready to eat right then, I just sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese on top and serve it out of the sauce pan. If I'm saving it for later, I'll put it into a casserole dish, so it's easier to warm up in the oven.

Here's the picture of the chicken and rice casserole that I shared with you the other day. Enjoy!

Saturday Salsa

After my cooking spree on Saturday, I remembered that I still had tomatoes in my fridge that were starting to go bad. Luckily I had also been wanting some good homemade salsa. Unfortunately, I didn't have all of the ingredients for the said project. However, my mom told me that they actually make a salsa mix. A salsa mix, who knew?!? We always had homemade salsa. Well, I got my salsa mix, cut up some tomatoes, added some canned diced tomatoes, and ta-da!
I added some chopped onions, green peppers (both which I keep handy in the freezer), and some tomato juice (I like my salsa a little runny.), just to make it taste a little less like a mix. It's pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Cook and Freeze

I am a big proponent of cooking things and then freezing them. That way, when you have to have a meal, and you're too tired and lazy to cook, there's already something thrown together. I think Saturdays are a good day to do this. This last Saturday, I did exactly that, much to the chagrin of my laundry which is still sitting in the baskets waiting to be washed.

Part of the reason I decided to cook so much was because my family was coming to visit. So, I set out, with a few speed bumps to come. First I made chicken casserole, which is incredibly easy. It's even easier if you get one of those day old rotisserie chickens from Wal-Mart on sale, and use it. Then you don't even have to cook the chicken. However, this does leave you with a lack of chicken broth, which was my first speed bump. I didn't have any thing to even make chicken broth, no bullion cubes, nothing.

Next I decided to make meatloaf. This was a wonderful idea, except, I've never made meatloaf, and I didn't have a recipe for it. So, I put in what seemed like it should go into meatloaf. I have no idea how it tastes, but this is what it looked like uncooked.If it's any good, I'll share the "recipe" later.

Lastly, I made lasagna. For the wedding, I got an amazing lasagna dish. The problem with it is that it makes the most ginormous lasagna in the world. One box of lasagna noodles is not enough to fill this pan. So, again, we shall see how it turns out.
Here is a picture of the process. Look how crazy big that pan is! It took seven noodles to barely cover each layer! The other problem with making the lasagna was that I do not have a large pot to cook the noodles in. I used two sauce pans and kept emptying them out and adding more noodles.

Then, in my cooking crazed state, I realized that tomorrow was Sunday, and that meant we would want lunch soon after church. Sundays are my days to rest and take naps. The last thing that I want to do is cook. So, I made a chicken and rice casserole and put it in the fridge.
I love having a "full" freezer. Right now I have a casserole, meatloaf, and lasagna in there. Yummy!

Pasta Please

Imagine my surprise, as I was checking out of Wal-Mart, to find out that Paula Dean has a magazine! While my husband graciously loaded the conveyor belt with our new purchases, I grabbed the magazine, with the intent to read as much as I could before it was time to pay. The first thing I found was a delicious looking pasta recipe. I glanced over the ingredients and was ecstatic to find that, not only could I pronounce them all, but I also had each one already in my cupboard! I tried to memorize the recipe, and then headed home.

Last night I remembered what I could and filled in the blanks on my own. That's how I tend to cook anyway. I like to make stuff up on the spot, so while this recipe was a Paula Dean one, every little bit wasn't hers.
So, let me share with you what turned out to be a wonderful success!


First, I set out my chicken and broccoli to thaw. I used about 2-3 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast for two people.

When it came time to cook, I boiled water and then cooked spaghetti in a sauce pan. Before the spaghetti is done cooking, add the broccoli in and let the two finish cooking together. Drain the mixture when the spaghetti and broccoli is finished cooking.



While you are cooking the spaghetti mixture, slice the thawed chicken into strips. If the strips are too thick, you might half them. Warm a skillet on the stove, and melt butter in it, enough to brown your chicken. Then place the chicken strips into the skillet.













Cook the chicken until it is a golden brown on the
outside. Make sure that it is cooked all of the way through, and then remove from the skillet and let it sit on a plate.


Pour the spaghetti mixture back into the saucepan and add a can of cream of mushroom soup. Mix the ingredients together on the stove on a low setting, allowing everything to warm.

When the spaghetti is hot, scoop onto a plate. Add the cooked chicken strips on top of the pasta. Then, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of all of it.


Here is a picture of the finished project. It looks better in real life, but my husband declared it delicious, and I rather enjoyed it myself. Try it, and let me know what you think!

Just Call Me Julia (or Paula Works too)...

"I am a combination of Paula Dean and Julia Child!" These are the words that I found leaving my mouth as I talked with a friend last night. Perhaps I have set my expectations for myself a little too high. I blame commercialism, though.

First Paula Dean signed a contract with Wal-Mart, and now her beautiful kitchen utensils flood the aisles. At first, when she started with her speckled pots and pans, I shuddered at the Paula Dean emblem. Maybe the woman could cook, but her taste in colors was atrocious. Then, this woman, or I suppose a team of highly trained designers and such, completely changed my ideas and opinions of one Paul Dean. I'm enthralled with her wonderful new collection. The rolling pin caught my eye first. It was a French one, which meant that there weren't handles on it, like the typical rolling pin. It was made of beautiful wood, and I could imagine rolling out table tops full of homemade noodles, pastas, and cookies. I HAD to have it, but I didn't need a rolling pin, at least this is what others said. I had already received one from my grandmother. This was not one of those cheap new ones either. Grandma gave me an old, tried and true, not going to fall apart in your hand, rolling pin. Still, I had birthday money, and I am now the proud owner of a Paula Dean rolling pin. Soon, I hope to be a proud owner of the Paula Dean stoneware. The only thing stopping me is the knowledge that I have NO room in my cabinets for such things.

Then there I was sitting innocently on my couch one day, when a movie trailer came on television. The movie was called "Julie and Julia," and it told the story of how a woman named Julie cooked the Julia Child's cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," in a year. I knew that I had to see it. It was a cooking movie, and I love to cook. It was just perfect for me. I found out that there was a book with the same title as the movie, the book that inspired the movie, none the less. This I soon acquired, and began reading. Now, I'm still in the middle of the said book, and while it's not the greatest piece of fiction, actually, Julie Powell, the author, is not that great of a writer, but I will not go into a literary critique at this point. What the book and the commercialism surrounding it and the movie have done, is instilled in me the desire to become the next Julia Child.

Again maybe my expectations are too high. This, however, can be discussed at another point. Right now I have to get the tv dinner out and put it in the microwave.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

"I'm going to have my own show, and call it, 'Meals You Can Cook with Food You Actually have in Your Kitchen.'" This I declared to my husband as I sat watching the Food Channel. Sure, the food looked delicious, but never would I have any of those ingredients in my cabinets. I couldn't even pronounce them.

So, in honor of my new show, or book, whichever comes first, I'm willing to share some of my experiences, mistakes, and general knowledge (or lack there of) when it comes to the art of cooking.

So far, Bananas have been a wonderful thing to have. As our air conditioner was not working, they have been a cool treat when the temperatures reached the upper 80's inside. I took the bananas, peeled them, cut them in half, and then put them on a fork into the freezer. I put them on the fork so you can eat them like a popsicle. They are a delicious and easy treat, and much healthier than ice cream or freeze pops.

Not every cooking experience has been a success, although I declare that it has nothing to do with a lack of experience on my part. While grocery shopping, we discovered a package of frozen ground turkey for only $1 a piece. They also came in flavors like taco or Italian. Being as they were only a dollar a piece, we decided to try one of each. Much to my chagrin, the meat was thawing out by the time I hit the check out counter. Not a lot of time had passed, so I was surprised at this. My shock continued when I went to cook them. I tried the Italian one first, planning on having some nice pasta.

Let me preface what I say next with the fact that I don't get nauseous cooking raw meat, and it takes some pretty strange meals to make me think twice about eating them. When I put that "meat" into the skillet, I understood why it only cost a dollar. Let's just say, I took a picture of it, but I can't even bear to look at the picture to post it. I also don't want to traumitize me few faithful readers.

I tried the meat, I promise I did. I thought the Italian one may have been a fluke, so I went ahead and cooked the taco flavored one. My husband, the one who eats anything, even declared that it tasted weird. It became lunch for the garbage disposal. Lesson learned, meat sold for a dollar, probably is only a dollar for a reason, and maybe not even meat.

Pickles? Yes, Please.

As I unloaded the groceries, trying to find a spot for each item, and crying at the same time, I realized that things will never be the same again. Don't take my crying as a sign that I am living a miserable life. That's not true. It was more of all of the emotion from the last month finally welling to the top of my head and spilling out of my eyes. Day Camp seems ages ago, then there was the wedding, honeymoon, and the saying goodbyes and moving. I had been so busy through it all, that I keep forgetting that I turned 24 in the midst of all of that. Sheesh.

The long awaited (and dreaded) Thursday finally arrived. We left with all of our stuff, and Bert's car packed into two trailers. It took us 8 hours to get to Clarksville, and when we got here, I was a little miffed to discover that we couldn't get into the apartment for another couple of hours. Finally, we got in, as well as getting all of our stuff in. I had no idea I had so many books. I think there are still 7 or more boxes of just my books that are packed away.

It was amazing to have family here for the first couple of days to helps us move furniture, hang things, and wash and wash all kinds of new dishes and kitchen appliances. Oh, my kitchen...I doubt this "quaint" kitchen has ever been packed so tightly. There was hardly any room for any food. So, when we hit the checkout line at Wal-Mart, and gazed into the overflowing cart, I realized that it would take a miracle to fit it all into my kitchen. That is indeed what happened. After some more crying (see aforementioned disclaimer above) I opened up a cabinet next to my refrigerator. It was like finding a 20 dollar bill on the ground. It was completely empty. Quickly I grabbed the bag of potatoes and onions and threw them in.

Apartments have their own personalities. Ours has several little quirks, which I can live with, but the one that annoys me the most (at least at this moment) is the "air conditioning." First of all, in my opinion, there is no need for it to be 7 p.m. and it still over 90 degrees outside. That is just absurd. Our little brick apartment likes the sun. It likes it a lot, and as it passes over our roof and onto the west side, my living room gets warmer and warmer. I took a nap on my couch today, surviving the warmth with our new fan blowing on me, when about an hour later, the warm room woke me up. After making sufficient complaints to my husband, and inwardly pronouncing curses on the evil ball of burning gas in the sky, I headed to the refrigerator. What I needed was something cool and refreshing. I had the perfect solution to my conundrum. I headed to the fridge and got out one of my favorite new items. It's a wonderful invention from the Tupperware company. You open the lid, pull on the handle, and walla! crisp, cold pickles come out. I love pickles. I have every since I was little, and my parents let me drink the juice from the jar when the pickles were gone. I grabbed the container and headed back to the couch. Before I knew it, I had eaten six baby dills. I watched my husband as he sat across from me, wondering how many I could eat before he took them away from me like had had done the day before. For some reason, he has this notion that I should not eat a jar of pickles a day. I agree...that is unless the AC is not working.