Amazing Avocado Season

It is one of those too hot to heat up the kitchen kind of days. This is why my crock pot is currently filled with soon to be pulled pork...I hope.With life settling into a calmer pace I am finding myself back to searching my cookbooks for new dinner options. I wanted summer comfort food..is that actually possible? It is too hot for heavy pasta and meatballs, lasagna or bread bowls filled with any kind of soup. But after a day of cleaning out the basement, wiping down the kitchen and working in the garden, I wanted a something creamy and warm and yummy.This is when I stumbled across a recipe (on Pinterest--yes I am an addict) for avocado pasta. It claimed to be creamy like an Alfredo...hmm the wheels began to spin.... It is avocado season...spinning faster...and I could add chicken...faster still...and I can finally house leftovers! TA DA dinner inspiration! Now, J is not usually a fan of cooked tomatoes--yes he has quite a substantial list of things that won't touch his palate, but I figured he could just pick them out if he despised them (aren't I nice?) So here is how it goes, you need:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 3 TBS olive Oil
• 2 TBS lemon juice ( I used lime since I had it)
• 2 cloves of garlic- chopped
• 12ish quartered cherry or other small tomato ( I will use more next time)
• grated Parm
• Salt and Pepper
• pine nuts-optional
• fettuccine
• chicken

About an hour before I wanted to serve, I quartered my tomatoes, coated them in olive oil and some salt and put them in the oven at 300

With about 30 min left to cook my tasty tomatoes...

I started by cooking cubed chicken pieces on the stove in olive oil.

While this was going, I cut and cubed my avocado and added them to my food processor- man do I need a bigger one of those, is it too early to start my Christmas list?

Next, I added the 2 TBS of olive oil, as I had already used 1 for the chicken- 2 TBS lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper to the processor.

Grind grind grind until smooth and creamy...it does not yet look appetizing!

Cook the pasta of your choice to al dente and stir pasta, chicken, tomatoes and sauce all together in a large bowl.

This is where you may garnish with one nuts if you so desire ( I did not simply because I forgot to buy them) But I did add the grated Parm and plenty of pepper!

Holy Guacamole is this delicious! It took a few bites to really appreciate the flavor, and get over the greenness... but Yumm-o! It really was creamy like an Alfredo sauce but tasted fresher and the tomatoes gave it a nice pop of a different texture. The original recipe did not call for chicken, but we are a carnivorous household and why not add some protein? We both nibbled on some seconds and J requested that this recipe go down in my official recipe book to be made again! He also requested a red wine for next time :)

my little oil covered tomatoes

Simple enough- look at that ripe avocado

As I said- not appetizing yet

A little dark but trust me, SO YUMMY!

Home-Made Simple

In our kitchen it's the simple things in life that matter...like having a functional refrigerator! Oh how I am basking in the simplicity today! Our new fridge was finally delivered yesterday and I am working on stocking the shelves with all things that require a chill. Speaking of needing a chill...I had forgotten how useful a freezer is! There are so many things you can do with ice! J's specialty:  Iced coffee, iced tea, a tall glass of ice water with a wedge of lemon...oh and ice cream! One more great thing about a freezer, spending less money on groceries! I can finally take advantage of those buy one get one...or even more exciting, the buy one, get TWO free sales at Big Y. Today, I got two packs of chicken tenders and 3, yes THREE pork roasts for the price of one... Two are currently residing in my Freezer. I will post the recipe for tonight's dinner later on, but I have left over chicken pockets and left over chicken pocket mix for sandwiches! Oh left overs how I have missed you!

Our Latest Kitchen Addition
But in the past few weeks of not being able to thoroughly use my kitchen due to lack of a cold source, I have taken to browsing Pinterest as I noted in my DIY section. I started with a simple lamp painting project, which I completed today with a shade from Lowes, and found myself searching for creative ways to homey this place up with what we already have. I am beyond happy with my latest kitchen addition (and J loves it too).. A wine glass holder made out of an old rake head that had broken off before my time in the House of J.  I have to share! 

 John used 3 nails to secure the rake and used a hammer to slightly bend the teeth up to keep the glasses from slipping out. I used some of my garden twine to make a simple bow, found a blue wine bottle in the basement from last year's apple picking adventure and picked some black-eyed Susans from behind my garden to bring it all together. We are brainstorming sign ideas for above the masterpiece but have not decided on what it should say.

First Pickings

 

It took some time, and even more patience to see my garden take off this year. I lost my lettuce to the hot weather and some of my veggies decided to be persnickety and not grow as their companions did for no good reason. I saw a sign on Pinterest saying "Grow Damnit!" It will be in my garden as soon as I can find some paint and wood. Today, I finally got J to help me pound in the giant fence posts that he salvaged from an old garden fence in our back woods. From these rusty giants, I strung twine that I was able to tie more twine to for my beans to grow up and to lend support to my tomato heavy vines. While assisting my plants in standing on their own, I noticed my beans had sprung! I had beans reaching the ground, some probably 4 inches long! Yikes!!! I didn't plan beans for dinner, but I came in with a Tupperware of beans, one pepper and a shriveled tomato (poor thing). The first pickings from my garden was an exciting moment in this house and J kindly ate a bean prior to washing and reported them to be sweeter than he thought they would be. So now, I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate beans into our dinner of avocado chicken pasta....May be I will just wait for tomorrow and look at those lovely green beans on my kitchen   counter for one more day!

My herb garden is coming along

First Cucumber!!!!

Crab and Goat Cheese Ravioli

 

We had this amazing dish as one of the first courses for Easter dinner and J and I liked it so much, I dug out my Cuisine at Home and found the recipe to make it at home for just the two of us. The exact recipe is coming soon (as soon as I am back in the kitchen and not visiting CT for the night). But to peak your interest, here are the pictures I took of the process. Making these raviolis was time consuming, but worth it! I would recommend trimming the edges, which I didn't do and making them into circles with a cutter. I also overfilled ours and it was even better! This was served with a lemon cream sauce and left overs were delish

For filling

•  4 oz softened goat cheese
• 2 TBS chopped chives
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1 can minimum lump crab meat
• 32 wonton wrappers(I used more)
• 2 Tbs olive oil

For Sauce
2 cloves sliced garlic
1 TBS butter (unsalted)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 TBS lemon juice and fresh zest

• Combine goat cheese, chives, crab meat, salt and pepper in large bowl
• scoop 1 TBS of mixture into the center of one wanton wrapper
• brush edges of the top wrapper with water and place wet side down over mixture
• press edges to seal
• Cut to shape if desired
• Repeat until mixture is gone
• Heat pan over medium heat
• add oil and ravioli in  small batches
• Cook until brown on one side (about 2 min)
• Flip ravioli and add 1-2 Tbs water  to pan and cover to steam 1-2 min
• Remove to plate

       For Sauce:

• Saute garlic in butter for 1 minute
• Stir in cream, increase heat to high and boil until cream is reduced to 1/2 cup
• Stir in lemon juice 
• Season with salt and pepper
• Garnish ravioli with zest

Cheesy Hot Chicken Salad

With the New England heat wave rolling through last week, I was trying to find recipes that would be on the lighter side and yet filling for J who has been a bottomless pit the past few weeks. I also still need dishes that will not leave me with left over condiments as we STILL do not have a full sized fridge... I found myself looking through my cooking magazine binder and just did not want to take the time to make some of the yummy looking dishes, but hot chicken salad popped out at me as I had made it once before. I simplified the recipe, using Philadelphia cooking cream rather than buying both mayo and sour cream. I was able to fit the left overs into a medium Tupperware which fit in the fridge and allowed two days of left overs.

For 6(ish) portions:
4 boneless chicken breasts shredded ( I poach mine if I just buy it for this dish)
1 jar pimentos (chopped)
1 small can water chestnuts slivered
1/2 cup peas
1/4 cup slivered almonds ( you don't lose anything if you opt out of these)
1 1/2 cups Philadelphia cooking cream - I used the Italian favor but any would be delish
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1 bag shredded cheddar
1 small can potato stix
salt and pepper to taste

• cook, let cool, and shred chicken breasts
• In a large bowl, combine water chestnuts, pimentos and almonds
• Add shredded chicken
• In a smaller bowl, combine and mix cooking cream and lemon juice
• Combine the cream mixture with the chicken mixture
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Coat large baking dish with non stick spray
• Spoon into dish
• Top with cheddar cheese
• Bake for 15-20 min at 375
• Sprinkle with potato stix and serve

adapted from Cuisine at Home

funky kitchen

We are still without a fridge, and as of last night, we are also without a kitchen faucet. These issues with the fact that the "mother in dating" officially despises me has not allowed for a pleasant week, and has certainly not encouraged my cooking. This week, specifically this weekend has sent me into an order delivery
 pizza/Chinese/subway funk. I am in a slump, where the idea of going to the grocery store and trying to find a recipe that will yield no leftovers and need no refrigerated ingredients has me instead steering myself toward the take out menu drawer and another 3 episodes of West Wing. This reminds me of a movie I once saw, with Sarah Michelle Gellar I think...Simply Irresistible?  Anyways, I feel that you put yourself into your cooking, and if that is true, anything coming from my kitchen this week is going to be worthy of the compost pile. Hopefully, this too shall pass and my kitchen will be revived soon.

Refrigeratorless

I hate to admit that we have been ordering take out or picking up Panera salads for dinner for the past week or so. Last night J even took me out to dinner at our favorite restaraunt. The reason for this is not because I am tired, or busy with grad school projects, but because the refrigerator decided last week to stop working. Given, it's been making horrible noises since I met J and I had suspicions that the temperature wasn't quite right a few times, when leftovers went bad before they should have. But now there is no doubt that it has made it's move to that big refirgerator warehouse in the sky, it has kicked the bucket, and no amount of J's fiddling will revive it.

This is not a good development for my much needed cooking therapy sessions! I need my nightly destressor to deal with my day to day happenings..a second grader who rolled her eyes at me at least 100 times yesterday, my mother's looming moving day, and that person that you know has something to say about you as soon as you are out of earshot...and infact, you are not always out of earshot. I have found out some very interesting things that I have done or said that must have been done while I was in a momentary coma because I don't remember half of them. I desperatly need this vital aspect of the kitchen back to house my much needed ingredients! But J says PBJ is fine and who needs cream for coffee, we just won't have coffee, or we can drive down the mountain to DD. So now is the time to find some recipes that don't call for eggs, milk, sauces of any kind or will yeild leftovers.

I was is a pickle last week whenI had signed up to bring my pretzel salad to the end of the year grad party at my professors house but had no way to set the jello or keep it cold until the next day... so pretzel salad was out. I needed something easy, with no cold ingredients, no need to set in the fridge and something I could take to work with me the next day and leave in the car for later on. Thinking...thinking...Tumbleweeds!

Tubleweeds are extremely easy to make and extremely easy to eat the entire batch in one sitting if you are not careful! They even passed J's taste test, so you know they can't be bad!

What you need:
3 cups butterscotch chips
3 TBS peanut butter
1 (12 oz) container of salted peanuts
1 (7oz) container potatoe stix
(Picture to come soon)

What to do:
In a medium pot, slowly heat and stir the buttercotch chips and peanutbutter until melted
Remove from heat
Add peanuts and potatoe stix- Stir to combine
Spoon by large Tablespoons onto waxed paper
Let set :)

You can throw these in the fridge to set if you have one available, but mine came out just fine when I left them to set on the counter!

Now that I have a frigeless dessert, I need to move onto the important meals of breakfast and dinner, we miss our scrambled eggs!