Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Bill Smith's Atlantic Beach Pie

I don't know who Bill Smith is, but I will love him forever because of this pie. 

OMG for real, y'all. 


This pie is amazing, this pie is incredible, this pie is easy.  Make this pie.

My only quibble would be that I used a slightly larger pie pan than the recipe called for, because when I poured the crust mixture in to press into the pan, there seemed to be SO much I was sure the filling wouldn't fit.  
Also, that crust was so delicious I could have eaten it all as is.  Crackers.  And sugar.  AND BUTTER, OOOOMMMMMGGGGG.
And I don't think I crushed the crackers enough...But next time I will fix that.


Monday, April 25, 2016

Lemon Butter Chicken


I have fallen down the Tasty food video rabbit hole on Facebook.  Mostly I watch the short videos, think hmmm, looks good, and move on, but this one stayed with me..... the Lemon Butter Chicken.  

I made it for Sunday night dinner and was so happy with how it came out.  It's easy and so delicious.


I'm rewriting the recipe here as they have omitted the chicken broth in the recipe written under the video, and I plan to make this again very very VERY soon.

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 Tbsp. paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 lemon
2 cups baby spinach

Instructions:
1. Season chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and paprika.
2. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown. Drain excess fat and set aside.
3. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in the skillet. Add garlic, stir until fragrant, then add chicken broth, heavy cream, Parmesan, lemon juice, thyme, and stir. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low.
4. Stir in spinach, simmer until spinach has wilted and the sauce has thickened. Return chicken to the skillet.
5. Bake at 400˚F / 200˚C for 25 minutes.
6. Serve immediately.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Book Club - I Am Malala




"My mother had no education and perhaps that was the reason that she always encouraged us to go to school. "Don't wake up like me and realize what you missed years later," she says."


"For me the valley was a sunny place and I couldn't see the clouds gathering behind the mountains."

"The soldiers had made a hole in the wall through which you could see the city below.  Maybe they had even shot at people through that hole.  
I felt sorry that our precious school had become a battlefield."


Monday, April 18, 2016

Coconut Cupcakes

I asked The Mister what sort of birthday dessert he'd like, and his 
response was - "Something with coconut". 
I knew just the recipe - the coconut cupcakes from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.  
I'd wanted to try it for my cookbook shelf purge recipe testing, but it didn't make the cut.

This makes a LOT of cupcakes.  
It fed us for the birthday dinner, I sent some home with my parents, gave some to 
our friends, and still had a bunch left over to take to work.  
They sure are good though.  
Warning - the recipe makes a ridiculous amount of frosting.  
More than you could ever want or need.  I halved the recipe and still had a ton 
left after frosting all 11,472 cupcakes.



Sunday, April 17, 2016

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Keeping track of the freezer

My freezer is always a mess. It's small, so there really isn't that much we could do with it, but everything is always jumbled and tangled together. 
 We try to not be wasteful, so there are always containers and freezer bags with random buns and bread ends, cooked meats or stews, soups that no one liked much but I saved anyway. 

 I can never keep track of what we buy or use, so I try to keep an inventory list. 
An inventory list that The Mister never updates when he takes stuff out, that I 
forget to update when I put stuff in, that gets chucked in the recycling bin after a 
few weeks when I get frustrated that it's no longer up to date. 
 But I persist.
 I have no motivation for menu planning and cooking any more, so knowing what I
 have to work with is more important than ever.

 This time I tried a slightly different method than my usual handwritten list - I made a "spreadsheet". (I use quotes because people who actually use spreadsheets would
 laugh at what I call one, but whatevs.) 

I started with my usual handwritten, illegible, unorganized list.

Then I put the information into a computer, and tried to group it by categories that seemed helpful - meats, breads, potatos....


When it came to items that I had multiples of - like ground beef and turkey, instead of writing the number 3 to show I had 3 packs, I did 3 lines, apart, so in theory if I take one out of the freezer, I just cross off one line and that shows I have 2 left, and that should be correct.  In theory.


The printed copy hangs in my kitchen.
So far, so good! 

Monday, April 11, 2016

Ginger pork meatballs with coconut broth


Mine doesn't look quite as becoming as the poster's, but they were still so delicious.  I'm a huge fan of anything with coconut milk and rice so 100 yeses right off the bat.  
It was an easy dinner and a keeper - recipe here.

Wednesday, April 06, 2016

Snapshot - Olive Bread


Pretty pleased with not only the look, but the taste!  My slashing game is
 on point.  In fleek?  Up high?

Now if I could only remember where the recipe came from, I'd make it again and share it with you...

Monday, April 04, 2016

Page 45





(Stolen from The Bloggess)

Yes Please by Amy Poehler-

Though to be fair, it was less a laugh and more of a cackle.

Sounds about right.

Friday, April 01, 2016

Intentions for April


How things went in March:

Yoga every day again.  Nope!  Not even close.

Drink lots of Water - Not bad.

Eat more veggies and fruits - Hmmmm, not sure I could call this one a victory.

Read with The Boy every night - doing well until sickness and Spring Break showed up.


Gosh these intentions are really just a list of things I haven't done well.

Intentions for April -

Focus on health - I am still hovering around the 7-8 pound gain.  I know I'm eating more poorly due to stress.  I need to cut it out.

Yoga daily- this is a goal I keep setting and failing at but I know how much better I feel when I practice.

Family walks - Spring has spring, babies.  Let's get out there.