Chicken Tamale Pie

I had cooked chicken and was craving some sort of comfort food so I was rummaging around my pantry and the internet for a yummy recipe. So I found a recipe over on the Bisquick site and then I started to modify. It came out pretty good!

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1/2 package of taco seasoning

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and wrung out

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used 3 cheese blend)

1 cup Bisquick

1 cup corn meal

1 1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

Process:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the Bisquick, corn meal, taco seasonings and eggs together. Then add milk and mix until smooth. Put chicken in the bottom of a 9x13. Then top with spinach and cheese. Then top with mixture. You can top it with salsa and guacamole. It is supper easy and yummy!

How Alton Brown May Be Breaking My Heart

Alton Brown was doing an interview with the LA Times about his new book, Good Eats: The Early Years. He mentioned that his wonderful show on Food Network, Good Eats, may not last past this year.

Say it ain't so!!!!

He goes onto to say that he won't kill it before its time but he doesn't want it to jump the shark. AB think that he isn't popular with the kids and man is he wrong! Not only do NerdDad and I both love the show (and just about every nerdy adult I know) but my kids love him!!! I hope he is just hedging because my heart might be broken if he were to leave. I already am edgy that there isn't more AB on Food Network as it is!

Tackle It Tuesday: Banana Bread

I made 4 loaves of banana bread today as my Tackle It Tuesday!!!!! I used a recipe that I found over at Tammy's Recipe that has wheat flour in it. The bread is moist and freezes beautifully!

Meal Plan Monday

You would think that someone who likes to eat as much as I do would have great ideas but that isn't the case this week. I am still feeling a bit icky so I am going with boring and easy;).

Monday: Breaded Tilapia, Zucchini Corn Cakes, Broccoli

Tuesday: NerdDad and I are both out: kids- chili mac

Wednesday: Chicken Kiev (in the Freezer), Beer Bread (in the Freezer), Broccoli

Thursday: Marinated Pork Loin Chops, Broccoli, Noodle Roni;)

Friday: Shredded Beef Enchiladas (in the Freezer)

Halloween Haul

Check out this year's Halloween candy haul! This is from about an hour's worth of Trunk or Treating at church with all 4 kids. I think we might be eating on this for months! And yes I am a little type A about the candy organization. With little kids it helps to have it separated. Now I just need to figure out some great recipes so I can cook with it!

Top Chef Vegas!

Here we meet again! They all seemed to make it through Restaurant Wars with out to much horror, so what awaits them this week?

Quickfire Challenge:
So everyone shows up in the kitchen to see Padma with Paul Bartolotta. He is a top Italian chef and is in Vegas. They are going to be giving tv dinners a gourmet twist. They are to be inspired by a show: Sopranos, Mash, Cheers, Sesame Street, Gilligan's Island, the Flintstones, and Seinfeld. Jennifer really seems to have been spirally the last few weeks and seems to be starting down that path again tonight. She really needs to pull herself out of it! Mike I has never seen Seinfeld! Jennifer and Robin were in the bottom. On the top was Kevin and Bryan were the top. Kevin won!

Elimination Challenge:
The chefs are going to cook in Tom's Craft Steak. They are going to be responsible for serving the 4 judges and 7 others. So they head into the kitchen and start checking out all the steaks. Then in walks Tom. He tells them that they have a guest that everyone will be cooking for, Natalie Portman. Natalie tells them that she is a vegetarian. So this means that everyone's steak plans are out the window. Natalie is also judging. This means mass chaos. Robin was overwhelmed by all the choices in the walk-in and chose to do a very complicated dish with lots of components. Mike I's mom is a vegetarian and Kevin is a vegetarian part of the year. I couldn't believe that Robin asked to have some of someone's boiling water. Like they have a pot of it because they didn't need it? Mike's leek weren't quite done because the water wouldn't boil easily. Time was up on Robin before she finish putting garbanzo beans on all the plates.

Robin: Stuffed Squash Blossom, Beet Carpaccio, Fresh Garbanzo Beans and Chermoula
Eli: Confit Eggplant, Lentils, Garlic Puree and Radish Salad
Michael: Asparagus Salad, Japanese Tomato Sashimi, and Banana Polenta
Jennifer: Charred Baby Eggplant, Braised Fennel, Tomato, and Verju Nage
Mike I: Whole Roasted Leeks with Onion JusBaby Carrot Puree and Fingerling Potatoes
Bryan: Artichoke Barigould, Confit of Shallot, Wild Asparagus and Fennel Puree
Kevin: Duo of Mushrooms, Smoked Kale, Candied Garlic and Turnip Puree

Serving:
Tom didn't get any garbanzo beans on Robin's dish and everyone agreed that it needed salt. One of the judges got a huge taste of lavender blossom off Eli's dish and equated it to sucking on soap. Other than that, Eli's dish seemed to do well. They all seemed to love Michael's dish. But Gail didn't like the chunks of banana in the polenta. Natalie said it made her smile and laugh and be confused. Jennifer sauced the plates at the table and was shaking. Gail's favorite part of Jennifer's dish was the verju nage but she felt it didn't seem substantial enough to be a main dish. Many agreed that it wasn't special enough. People thought it was pretty but not that good. Bryan ran out of time plating so there were things not included. Padma thought the shallots were a bit strong with the garlic blossoms. Kevin felt his dish wasn't pretty. The smoke on Kevin's kale was a little strong but it was a substantial, meaty meal.

Judging:
First up for the judges are Kevin, Michael, and Eli! Natalie said the Michael's dish made you ask who he dealer was and did he want any new clients. The winner was Kevin. Kevin really seems on a streak to possibly win the while thing. Michael was pissed that Kevin won. Then the judges wanted to see Robin, Jennifer and Mike I. Natalie asked Mike I if there was a reason that there wasn't protein. Mike said that the leeks were going to be sliced like scallops and would serve as the protein. That cause Gail to make sure that Mike knew that leeks aren't protein. They really gave him a hard time about the raw leeks. Robin went nuts with the talking and went everywhere. Tom pointed out that there was nothing to pull it together. Tom also complained that he didn't get any garbanzo beans. Padma said that she didn't see where Jennifer spent her 2 hours. Tom said that it was more of a garnish. Tom said that she had been heading down for a bit. Natalie and Tom said that Mike I's leeks were not the only problem with his dish. The judges also thought that Jennifer was defeatist. In the end Mike I was sent home. Mike thought that Robin should have been eliminated before him but such is life.

Super Easy Home Made Chicken Stock

Ahh, the elusive home made chicken stock. But I don't want to collect bones in my freezer or watch the pot for hours upon hours. So is there an easier way? Definitely! Now it may not be quite as good as one made with chicken feet and simmered for days but then again, neither are the cans. I use dark meat on bones to make my stock and then I use the meat for chicken pot pies and other meals.

Ingredients:

3 lbs dark chicken meat, on the bone but skinless

2 ribs of celery chopped (optional, NerdDad doesn't like the taste of celery so I don't use it)

1 onion chopped

2 carrots chopped

2 heaping teaspoons minced garlic

A few stalks of herbage (pick 1 kind, I often use parsley)

Water to cover

2 teaspoons of oil

Process:

Heat stock pot on medium heat, place oil in the bottom. Dump in celery, onion, and carrots and sweat. When the carrots just start to get a little soft around the edges add the garlic. Continue to cook until you can smell the garlic. Then drop in the meat and cover with water. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Continue on a simmer for 30 minutes. Then remove the chicken and do as you wish with it. Then strain all the liquid and discard the solids. Then you have cups and cups of beautiful stock. It freezes beautifully!

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