Back in the Saddle (again)

Some time ago, I started a new quilt for my bedroom. I have made lots of quilts in my time, but they are rarely for me. I finally decided on a pattern for my own quilt, and spent quite a bit of time hunting down fabrics in just the shades I wanted. Finally, I started the quilt early last fall, with the intention of having it done and on my bed this winter.

Well, then there was a baby shower quilt to make, and then the holidays happened, and…..well….shit. Time just got away from me.

Now I am starting to feel the pressure as I have some sewing I really want to do for my sister, who is expecting in June, and I was putting off working on my quilt any more until I got her projects done. However, I have no fabric. I have not been able to pick out fabric for my niece’s quilt, and I’m going to need my sister’s help to do so. I want the quilt to be perfect. So, since I had some time this weekend, and I discovered how wonderful my new sewing machine is LAST weekend, I bit the bullet and dug into the quilt pile again.

Last night I completed all 36 blocks for the top of the quilt and trimmed them. Now I just need to spend some time on it (hopefully this Sunday, if all goes according to plan. HA!) joining the blocks in the pattern I have planned and putting the borders on. Then all that will be left is to take it to the quilter and put the binding on when I get it back. But, realistically, the plan is to get the top done and then go back to baby projects. There’s no way I’d get it back before the cold weather passes at this point anyway, so I might as well wait until I have the cash saved up for the quilting service anyway. But at least it will be done and off my list so I can work on other things.

Here are the finished blocks:

Citrus and Basil Rib Roast

Living in the isolation of this rural hell that I call home, I don’t often have the opportunity to try different cuts of meat or unusual food items unless I pack up the car and go shopping in another city. However, no occasion, I run across something in my local store that surprises me. I even bugged them enough that they are carrying fresh mozzarella on a (fairly) regular basis now.
So, to what should my wondering eyes should appear on my recent visit? A lovely pork rib roast. I know, to probably 99% of you, that is nothing out of the ordinary, but trust me when I say, around here, it is. I know, when all is said and done, its just pork chops, but still, in my kitchen, anything different is welcome.

Here is what I did with it last night.

It took a lot longer in the oven that I anticipated, but thanks to my electric probe cooking thermometer (courtesy of the MIL last year at Christmas), I didn’t have to worry about it. It turned out fragrant, juicy, and just all around delicious. Even the hubs thought so, even though he is generally wary of anything out of his comfort zone (which is typically ANYTHING he’s never tried).

Citrus and Basil Rib Roast

1 - 5 pound rib roast
Zest of 2 lemon, and 1 orange, and their juices
5 hole cloves of garlic and three minced cloves
1 tsp basil
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a deep pan, mix the zests, juices, minced garlic, basil and olive oil together to make a marinade.
Cut a 1 inch deep slit in between each rib, close to the bone and insert one whole clove of garlic.
Put the roast in the marinade, turning to coat, and let marinate in the fridge overnight (or several hours) turning occasionally.

Scrape off any excess marinade and heat ¼ olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet or roasting pan, and brown the roast on all sides.
Roast at 350 until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees. Remove from the oven and allow the roast to sit for 20 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute before cutting into individual chops.
If I had had company over, I’d have made a pan sauce with what was left in the pan, it was absolutely gorgeous. I was practically licking the cutting board after I got done separating the ribs.
I was too busy licking my fingers and didn't get a shot of the luscious thing after I cut it apart, but trust me, it was beautiful.

Happy Valentines Day, Daddy!

Here is Little Man with his Valentine’s Day gift for his Daddy. (my mother will get a kick out of this picture)
There is kind of an inside joke about the frog. We have no idea where the little booger came up with this, but he has a game he plays with Daddy every night when he gets home from work.
See, there are frogs in the bathroom (apparently), and he hollers and begs until Daddy will go “frog hunting” and get the big frog. So, Daddy goes in the bathroom and shuts the door, and WHAM! A frog gets him!!! Oh, Save me, Ty! HEEEEEELP! The frog is getting me!!!!! And VOILA! Ty comes to the rescue and pulls Daddy out of the evil frog’s clutches (aka, the bathroom), and all is well in the world once more.

Ok, my son is THREE. There is no frog in the bathroom, but it sure is a fun game for him to play with Daddy after a long day (although Daddy might tell a different version of this story). Well, when my family was out for a visit and Mom and I were at Walmart picking up a few things, we came across this enormous stuffed frog in the Valentines Day section for $10. Mom said I should get it (cuz if you’ve ever witnessed this game in action, you’d think so, too), but I said no.

I went back a couple of weeks ago and there was that frog, staring me in the face, saying “take me hoooooome”. So, I did. And we hid him and saved the surprise. Then, for Valentine’s Day, I secreted the froggy away in the bathroom, until the game commenced….and boy was it hysterical when Daddy went in the bathroom and found a REAL froggy waiting for him! The game went on forever that night.

So here you go Grandma. A picture of your happy little froggy.

One more off the list….check CHECK!

Ever since my dad made a gorgeous toy chest for Ty for Christmas, I’ve been meaning to make a seat cushion for it. I dug some upholstery material out of my stash…..bought a piece of foam padding……cut the foam to the right size…..then finally last weekend I tried my new sewing machine out for the first time and put the cushion together. It was an easy project, and I knew it would be, but I just hadn’t been able to work up the motivation to get it done until then. In the process, I found out that my new machine is AWESOME! Stitching through those layers of Jacquard was just like running a hot knife through butter…..wonderful….. It was so nice, it motivated me to do some more sewing this weekend, as you’ll see in another post.

I'm feeling neglected!

Ok folks, I know I was kind of a slacker with my blog over the holidays, but I'm back and I'm missing the attention and the comments. As my friend Tom likes to say, I'm a big "attention whore".
So, check it out!
I added a linky to my sidebar so you can all start following me! I'd love to know who all is out there and what you think of my blog - so go ahead, you know you want to.....click it! And follow me!

Another equally easy chicken dish

Many, many moons ago, I introduced my husband to Chicken Cordon Bleu. Keep in mind that the hubs is about as picky an eater as they come, so the fact that he really enjoyed the dish surprised the heck out of me. Liked it so well, in fact, that I ended up making it pretty regularly over the next few years. I should mention that I don’t particularly enjoy making Chicken Cordon Bleu. First, there’s the pounding the chicken out flat enough to roll without tearing it up. Then there’s getting ham and swiss cheese sliced thinly enough to roll up inside the chicken. And, of course, cooking the whole she-bang without all the swiss drooling out the poorly sealed opening…yeah, its not exactly a picnic. But, I’ve learned that when I actually find a new dish that my husband and I BOTH like, to be grateful and just shut up and make it.
Naturally, I was ecstatic later on to come across a recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu CASSEROLE. Hmmmmm….I was intrigued. It looked easy enough, so I gave it a try. My husband’s response? “Just so you know, you never need to make chicken cordon bleu the other way again. EVER.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Now let’s pause for a moment while I insert a small caveat. *ahem* this is not my favorite dish in the world. The amount of gooey-ness makes the dish almost unctuous. On top of that, it was not really a lot easier than the original, as it called for chunking up, breading, and frying chunks of chicken breast prior to even assembling the casserole. Kind of like cooking twice. Like I have time for that. However, I found a shortcut (which I tried out for the first time this week and the hubs didn’t even notice! YAY!), and on a cold winter day, when you need something quick to make and filling for the man in your life, this should do the trick.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
½ bag of frozen white meat chicken chunks (not the evil little processed chicken “nuggets”. Suck it up and at least buy real white meat chicken.)
2 ham steaks, about ½” thick (I just ask the lady at the deli counter to slice me a couple so I only have to get as much as I need. I also recently discovered a vacuum sealed package of the same in my refrigerated section by the bacon!)
2 equally thick slices of swiss cheese (ditto for the deli lady)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk

Layer the chicken chunks on the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Cube the ham and the cheese into bite sized pieces and toss them on top of the chicken.
Mix the soup and the milk until smooth and pour over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the soup and cheese all kinda melt together and get all nice and bubbly.

Now, I have to apologize. I was taking pictures while making this and my camera battery just up and died out of the blue before I could snap a shot of the finished product. Guess you’ll just have to try it for yourself! Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan for Dummies

Ok, maybe not exactly “for Dummies”. After all, this is not the noxious little piece of rolled up chicken you find in the freezer section at the local Walmart. But still, it is a recipe that anyone can make; hearty, and satisfying, too.
I’ve posted pictures of my Chicken Parm before, but was informed yesterday that I never posted the recipe. SO, here goes!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded thin
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
½ cup milk
2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Oil for frying
½ jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

First, trim all fat or questionable bits from the chicken. One at a time, put them in a Ziploc bag (zipped almost all the way closed, leaving some room for pressure and air to escape) and pound them with a meat mallet or heavy skillet until about 1/2 inch thin.
When all four are pounded out, put them all back in the Ziploc bag and add the flour. Toss them around in the bag until they have a nice light coating of flour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crack the two eggs into a pie plate (or other shallow dish) and whisk in the milk until it is all worked in. Put the breadcrumbs into another pie plate. Pour enough oil into a large skillet to cover the bottom of the pan, but don’t overdo it, you don’t want the chicken swimming in oil, you can always add more if you need to. Make sure you either have a pan big enough to hold all the chicken without crowding the pan, or work in batches, 2 breasts at a time. Heat the pan over a medium high heat.
Once the oil is hot, pull one chicken breast out of the bag, shaking off an excess flour, dip it in the egg wash, then coat thoroughly in the breadcrumbs. Place the breaded chicken carefully in the hot oil. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken. Fry until golden on the bottom and then turn. Fry on second side until equally gorgeous. You want to chicken cooked through, but if you are paranoid about that kind of thing, like I am sometimes, go ahead and stick a knife in it to check for pinkness. A tiny bit of pink in the middle is okay at this point, because it is going to cook more in the oven.
Once the chicken is nice and lovely golden brown, remove from the heat. Mop up any excess oil left in the pan with a paper towel. Pour ½ jar of your favorite pasta sauce over the chicken, then top with the shredded mozzarella.
Put a lid on the pan (if you have one that fits, if not, you can use foil, or just leave it open, but watch so the cheese doesn’t crisp up on you) and put it in the over for about 5 minutes, or until it looks like this:
Traditionally, this would be served over some kind of long pasta, like fettuccine, but my hubs likes it just like this with a big chunk of garlic bread.

**Disclaimer: if I had my way, this would actually involve a light sauce from scratch and more robust cheeses, but as you all know by now, cooking for the hubs does limit my creativity somewhat.

Enjoy, everyone!