Chili Time!

Chili weather has arrived & I've got plenty to eat now. Made a big batch of Habanero Hellfire Chili today. I loooove spicy food, so I thought this recipe sounded great. It had the perfect amount of heat (for me). Definitely spicy, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. It warmed me up, but didn't make me sweat. I bought some cheddar cornbread at Cosentino's Market in Brookside to enjoy alongside the chili. So good! I've already got some leftover chili in the freezer that I will enjoy later this winter. And tomorrow's lunch? Chili Dog & Fries. Yum!

First meal on the new stove

I finally got rid of the horrible range that came with the house. The stovetop was electric coil & the oven baked unevenly and very slowly.

Serious fug:



Would've loved to switch over to gas, but stuck with electric. Got a ceramic-top range from Sears on Sunday during their friends & family sale and had it delivered and installed yesterday.

New range (and tile backsplash):



I decided to make risotto & use up some stuff in the fridge. First I sauteed onion, mushrooms & garlic. Then added the aborio rice & started the risotto process. Add a ladle of hot chicken stock, stir until absorbed, then repeat for about 20-25 minutes until the rice is nice & creamy. Added in some frozen peas, rotisserie chicken, freshly grated parmesan, salt and pepper.

Result? Great comfort food. Yum!

Tomato Plants

The rabbits and/or squirrels ate the first few tomatoes that appeared on my plant, which made me quite sad. They've also feasted on my jalapeños. I can happily report that a few tomatoes have managed to survive the creatures at this point. The jalapeños? Not so lucky. Here are pictures of my tomatoes:

Taken in June:


Taken in July (my how they've grown):


The biggest tomato on July 13th. Sadly the critters got to this guy shortly after the picture was taken. Grrrr!


His smaller buddies:


I can't wait to enjoy these tomatoes. Yum!

Making use of Leftovers

I had some leftover prosciutto-wrapped chicken, so decided to throw it in some pasta. I sauteed some garlic in olive oil, then added some prepared pesto & heavy cream. Mixed with the pasta & cut-up leftover chicken & added fresh basil & parsley from my garden, Parmesano Reggiano cheese, lemon zest & some crushed red pepper. Cut up an heirloom tomato to enjoy on the side. Good stuff.

Weekly Roundup

Here's the takeout vs. cooked meal roundup for the week so far:

Monday: Grilled Chicken/Corn/Swiss Chard
Tuesday: Prosciutto-wrapped Chicken/Salad
Wednesday: Popcorn
Thursday: Chipotle (my addiction...I think I could eat this every day & not get sick of it)
Friday: Leftover Chipotle & homemade guacamole
Saturday: Frozen pizza (lunch), made Party Potatoes for Michelle's party
Sunday: Pasta with pesto cream sauce & leftover chicken (lunch). Went to Kelly's for dinner. I brought corn on the cob & chipotle-lime butter.

Takeout: 1
Cooked Meal: 3.5 (I think making fresh guac counts for something) :)
Too lazy to get takeout or cook: 2.5

It's a start!

It's a Chicken Post

So I've been eating lots of chicken this week. I've had bone-in/skin-on thighs, boneless/skinless thighs and a boneless/skinless chicken breast.

First up are the bone-in/skin-on thighs. I used a recipe found on Simply Recipes for Red Chile Marinated Grilled Chicken. Everything I've made from her blog has been very tasty. On the side I cut up potatoes & onions and grilled them in foil with butter & spices and made a tomato & avacado salad. Yum.















Next was the boneless/skinless chicken breast. I totally cheated on this one. Saw tequila-lime marinated breasts at Whole Foods and they just looked too good to pass up. Threw them on the grill along with corn on the cob. Had my first foray into Swiss Chard & it was quite good. Just sauteed in olive oil, butter & white wine along with some red onion & garlic.



I decided to use stuff already in the fridge for the boneless/skinless thighs. I had some leftover prosciutto and gruyere so I put the cheese and some arugula on the chicken and wrapped the proscuitto around it & threw it in the oven. Went outside and mowed the back yard and when I came in it was done. Served it alongside arugula salad with gorgonzola & tomatoes.

Good News/Bad News

You always give the bad news first, right? Bad news: I haven't written anything in this blog.

Good news: I actually have been cooking more.

My camera got lost during the move, so I've been unable to visually document the attempts at cooking I've made. I now have a new camera, so perhaps there will be posts with actual pictures at some point in the future.

I have fresh herbs growing in my garden & maybe someday I'll have peppers and tomatoes too. Of course that's only if I figure out a way to outsmart the stinkin' rabbits. Argh.

I've started keeping a spreadsheet of my pantry items and I'm keeping that on Google Docs. So now I can search for recipes while I'm at 'work' and immediately see what items I'd need to purchase at the store on my way home. Hopefully this will keep me from buying yet another bottle of white wine vinegar (I currently have three).

I bought a new chef's knife & I can't believe I've gone this long without it. It makes life 10 times easier! Purchased a sharpening steel over the weekend, so no more dull knives in my kitchen!

I went to Whole Foods yesterday & ended up buying Swiss Chard. I've never had it before, but for some reason it just jumped out at me. So tonight I'll be trying something new. Exciting!

So I'm on the right track. Now if I can just remember to document before I dig in & eat...maybe this blog will actually get off the ground!

Oops!

Wow, that may have been the worst attempt at keeping up a resolution ever. I have to admit that I didn't come close to cooking twice a week. I haven't even gone to the grocery store in over a month. Perhaps it's time to try this again. Or perhaps in another 18 months I'll post again with the update that nothing happened. Yep, I suck.