recipe review: rice, cheddar, and spinach pie

(posts that aren't all about food coming soon. i promise. maybe.)

i was at barnes & noble on saturday and decided to thumb through a few magazines. never mind the fact that i have a huge backlog of magazines waiting for me once i'm done with my current stack of library books. anyway...i was looking at the recipe index for the most recent issue of eating well magazine and saw a listing for rice, cheddar, and spinach pie. usually i clip/save recipes to try out at a later date (read: weeks/months from when i originally see them), but since i knew we had everything except cheddar cheese and onions on hand, i decided to try to give it a whirl this week.

i made a couple of changes/substitutions, though - i used shredded sharp cheddar cheese b/c i wasn't as specific on the grocery list, and i used pre-minced garlic b/c, well, it's there and i might as well use it. for the rice, i used some leftover cooked white rice that was stashed in the freezer from our last chinese food order. i'm looking at the recipe again now and just noticed that it called for brown rice. oh well.

if/when i make this again, i'm adding more seasoning. i didn't measure the salt/pepper this time around and i thought it was a bit bland. i don't know what spice(s) i'd use, but i'd definitely start with more salt/pepper and go from there.

recipe review: balsamic honey chicken

have boneless skinless chicken breasts, will consult folder of recipes for ideas i haven't tried yet. i saved this one from an email i received who knows how long ago, and decided to go for it.

only one substituion this time - i used canned pears instead of fresh b/c that's what was on hand; i'd say maybe a can and a half, however that translates. no, wait, i lied - i used 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts that i cut in half, but that's not a substitution so much as a...oh, i don't know. a change? my brain is refusing to work properly right now, so i'll let y'all figure that one out.

in sum: this recipe was nom and i'd make it again, either with canned pears or actually buying fresh. the end.

a query b/w my brain surprises me sometimes

so i'm finalizing my outfit for a b-day party i'm attending tomorrow evening, and i picked out one of the biggest pairs of earrings i own, mainly b/c i won't be around babies for most of the day tomorrow and therefore can wear them w/o worrying about one of the twins yanking said earrings out of my ears.

then i glanced at the calendar and realized that tomorrow is february 18. february 18 was daddy's birthday. he would've been 79 tomorrow. one of the things i brought with me to the 'burbs is a little keepsake box of stuff that belonged to daddy and to james. it's mostly cta-related paraphernalia, and a bracelet made of coins from 1976 that daddy had someone make for me when i was in high school, and daddy's old masonic ring.

i tried on the bracelet and it's too small. i looked at the ring, tried it on (it actually fits on my ring finger) and, within the space of a minute or less, started a thought process that sorta kinda looked like this:

"what if i started wearing daddy's masonic ring? i could switch my class ring to my left hand and wear daddy's ring on my right. or i could put the ring on my necklace. i have a hard enough time w/the twins yanking at the chain now, though; do i want to give them more ammo? would it be weird for me to wear this ring? are there rules/guidelines for this kind of thing? i don't know. i'll ask the internet!"

and as i was about to go on twitter and pose this quasi-important question, i realized that a blog post would be more appropriate, since this is obviously way more than 140 characters. :-)

anyway...i'm opening this up for discussion. in case it matters, the aforementioned necklace belonged to james and is the one i'm always wearing. the ring on it was my mother's. you can see why the sentimental side of me is leaning toward adding daddy's ring to this mix, but i haven't made an official decision yet.

as for tomorrow - i'm leaving the ring and all the other keepsakes at home. i still have daddy's old cta key on my keychain, so that'll be my memento for the day.

heh.

so, monday's post about the grammys? post number 69 on this blog. giggity.

oh, and to follow-up on yesterday's post - i have enough chocolate in my stash to get me through the end of the week. just sayin'. :-)

why yes, i would like some cheese with that whine

if by "cheese" you mean chocolate, and by "whine" you mean actual alcohol, that is.

before i finally went the fuck to sleep last night, i'd managed to come up with a plan for today's trip into the city. the primary purpose of today's visit was for my monthly date with state-mandated bureaucracy, but i was also going to go to the harold washington library to return books and update my address, pick up my mail and a check from my most recent freelance gig, deposit said check so i could pay my cell phone bill and handle a couple other expenses, maybe have a quick chat with my former boss, go to the evanston library to return books and update my address, and buy chocolate b/c my stash is running low and we all know how dangerous that is, and somehow be done with all of this (and my "date") in enough time to meet j in skokie so we could head back to deerfield so he and l could maybe go out for a quick valentine's day coffee while i stayed home with the (hopefully) sleeping kids. i know that sounds like a lot, but i've actually gotten quite used to packing major amounts of activity into my chicago sojourns, so i had no reason to believe it wouldn't all get done.

i should've known something was up this morning when i found myself being mildly jealous of the 3 y.o. receiving cards & chocolate & presents for v-day. granted, said cards and presents and chocolate were from her grandparents and one of her classmates, but damned if the proverbial knife didn't turn in my heart just a wee bit. irrational, i know, to be even a little jealous of a 3 y.o., but the first step is admitting i have a problem and i promise that if i don't get help at charter, i will get help somewhere.

the fun continued during my trip to the train station. one of the radio stations (i forget which one) was having a segment about "sad and single girls." these women were calling in with their tales of woe in an attempt to win a vacation to...mexico? details are fuzzy b/c the twins were alternating between babbling and crying, and sometimes it takes a while to restore some semblance of calm. i was listening to these women and actually felt a bit proud b/c i wasn't sad. single, yes, but not sad. i'd managed to shake off the earlier feeling of jealousy, primarily b/c i knew there would be copious amounts of chocolate in my future.

i made it downtown, went to the harold washington library and accomplished the tasks of returning books & updating my address (note: there's a self-checkout kiosk at the harold washington library now. woo!), and then went to the red line to head south for my appointment with the state of illinois. that was a bit of a clusterfuck b/c the red line wasn't running normally (as of this writing, i haven't had a chance to find out what the exact problem was), so i went over to the orange line and then eventually wound up on the red line to continue to the link office...

...where i proceeded to wait. and wait. there's normally a good hour or so wait between the time i check in for my appointment and when i actually see a caseworker or other staff member. i figured today would be no different. so very wrong.

an hour went by. 90 minutes went by. 2 hours went by before someone called my name and asked ?s about the reason for my visit. never mind the fact that i had a sheet with all of the pertinent appointment info on it that i presented when i checked in. "oh, you're here to see ms. so-and-so? ok, have a seat and someone will call you."

suffice it to say that i was at the office for a good 3.5 hours, only to be told that no, i couldn't see a caseworker and oh, yeah, btw, my case has been canceled and i need to reapply for benefits and no, they don't know why it took so long and no, they don't know why no one told me last month that my benefits were set to expire. gee, thanks a lot for wasting my entire afternoon. happy valentine's day to me.

by the time i got back on the red line to head north, it was too late to pick up mail and the aforementioned freelance check, let alone stop in for a chat with my former boss. didn't make it to evanston, either. and slightly more painful than not picking up my check? i didn't have time to buy chocolate. which is probably for the best, b/c there's only ~$25 left on my link card and since i'm now in bureaucratic limbo, i'm not even sure i can use that.

so, yeah. fuck today and the three-legged horse it rode in on. i have to now hope that my cell phone provider cuts me a bit of slack and doesn't disconnect me between tomorrow (when my bill's due) and saturday (the next opportunity i'll have to pick up my check). i'm upset that i can't chip in on groceries for l & j and the kids b/c the state of illinois decided to...oh, hell, i can't even pretend to know what the state decided to do. no idea when i'll find out, either, b/c my application has to be reviewed and then i get to have another date with bureaucracy to attempt to figure out what in the actual fuck happened.

but, hey, at least i got to hang at starbucks long enough to write this post while being subjected to seal's cover album(s). the fact that i didn't walk over to binny's instead is a testament to how cold it is, how underdressed i am, and how little money i have in the bank. i'm seriously going to go "home," eat dinner, and figure out how long i can stretch my current stash of chocolate while wishing i could punch today in the face.

hope y'all had a better valentine's day (or tuesday, if this holiday isn't your cup of tea) than i did.

my top 3 moments from the grammys

#3 - this commercial for target:



this is my new favorite commercial. i've been that girl singing on the bus (and on the train, and walking down the street, and in the store) more times than i can count.

#2 - adele's performance:



i couldn't even talk while i was watching this last night. i'm not sure i managed to tweet during the performance, either. i was just so happy to see/hear adele back on stage singing one of my anthems from 2011, i might've just sat in my seat holding my laptop and trying not to jump up and down like a teenage fan. which leads me to my top moment...

#1 - ll cool j as host

to say i was excited when i found out that ll was hosting this year's grammys is a major understatement. y'all know i tend to watch the grammys every year b/c i like being entertained/amused, so it's not as if i needed another reason to tune in, but omg. i had to warn everyone here about my ginormous crush on ll and that i would indeed be squealing like a 12 y.o. girl. and i did. more than once. i can't even pretend to be ashamed. if you followed my tweets last night, then you got a glimpse of just how happy i was. yeah, i'm biased, but i thought ll did a great job, and we all know i'd have no problems with him hosting again next year. :-)

recipe review: skillet chicken & rice with corn and tomatoes

what happens when boneless skinless chicken breasts go on sale? you buy lots of them, and then you find yourself asking "wtf are we gonna do with all this chicken?" ok, maybe not in those exact words, but you get my drift.

anyway - i had this america's test kitchen recipe in my files and figured it was worth trying out. i'm copying it here b/c atk requires a login to view recipes and i'm guessing that some of y'all (myself included, actually) don't have an account with them.

Serves 4

To remove corn kernels from the cob: Use a chef’s knife to cut the cobs in half horizontally, and then stabilize the cobs by standing them on their cut ends before slicing the kernels from the cob. You can substitute 1½ cups frozen corn if fresh corn is not available.

1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1½ pounds)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin
3 ears corn, kernels removed from cobs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 teaspoon grated zest plus 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lime

1. Combine rice, 1 cup broth, and ¾ teaspoon salt in microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave until liquid is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

2. Heat remaining oil in empty skillet. Cook scallion whites and corn until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir rice and remaining broth into skillet and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, nestle chicken into rice, and cook, covered, until liquid is absorbed and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter. Stir tomatoes, lime zest, and lime juice into skillet with rice and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in scallion greens and season with salt and pepper. Serve with chicken.

i used frozen corn - it is february, after all, but if i made this during farmers market season, i'd probably go with fresh. i think i only used 4-5 scallions, instead of the 8 called for the recipe. i think i had the stove turned up too high and the rice was starting to stick, so i added a little more chicken broth toward the end; maybe 1/2 cup or so. i'd make this again. when sweet delicious swine is back in my life on a quasi-regular basis (read: when i once again have a place of my own), i'll probably try it with boneless pork chops or sliced pork tenderloin.

recipe review: hearty meatball stew

i saw this recipe while watching food network a week or so ago. i told l about it, she bought ground turkey during a trip to the store, and i put it on this week's menu plan.

did i mention that i'm sick? and that most of the folks here have been sick this week? my taste buds aren't working properly, breathing through my nose is becoming a distant memory, and the fact that i had enough energy to do all the prep and pull off a decent, if admittedly bland, meal is impressive to me.

and now, the substitutions/changes. let's start with the meatballs:

--used 2.5 lbs of ground turkey, about 1/2 cup of water, salt, pepper, dried parsley, garlic powder, paprika, and panko. i didn't measure any of the spices. also didn't measure the panko, although i probably should have so i'd know for next time. oops. it all came together the 1st time around, so yay for that. i got about 24 meatballs out of it - 1/2 for this stew, and 1/2 for tomorrow's dinner tbd.

for the stew: a can of green beans (drained) instead of fresh, 2 potatoes instead of one b/c they were a bit on the small side, a large (oh, i dunno, 24-25oz) can of diced tomatoes (drained), about 2 cups of chicken broth, skipped the red pepper flakes, and added extra salt & pepper along with garlic powder & paprika. no, i didn't measure the spices here, either. you'll have to use your own best judgment here, folks.

consensus seems to be that the stew was nom, if a bit bland. i probably could've added more spices, but as mentioned previously, my taste buds aren't fully functional right now and i didn't want to overdo it. that said, i'd probably make this again, possibly with (turkey) italian sausage mixed in.