kristen's kitchen:trainwreck omelette

Hello dear readers. It is I. No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth. You would think that once I started Caroling I would have loads of stories to tell. Nope. I'm very very boring. Maybe once I'm there all week (that starts TONIGHT btw) I'll have stories to tell. Today I just have a recipe to share.

After my parents moved to St George I moved in with my Aunt Joan and Uncle Brad. My Uncle Brad (the Bradster) created a dish called the Trainwreck Omelette. It's fast, easy, and delish. You can add whatever you want to it, and there's really no measurements. You just have to feel it out. This round I made WAY too much, so I adjusted it before I posted here. Hopefully I got the quantities worked out so this will serve one-depending on how hungry you are.  

Ingredients

9 Tater tots

1 large egg

Shredded cheese

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Nuke tater tots for 15-30 seconds to soften up a bit then place in skillet. Heat over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until they have a little color and are easily mashed with a potato masher.

Yes I know there's more than 9 tots in there. I told you I WAY over shot.

While tots are heating scramble eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper. If you are adding additional ingredients add them to the eggs. Grate desired amount of cheese. Set both aside.

When tots are heated through gently mash until they are broken apart. Add salt and pepper, turn heat to medium high and finish heating through and are lightly crisp. (They'll stick/clump together so you may need to flip like a pancake.)

Turn heat to medium medium-low and pour beat eggs over tots. Gently stir to incorporate but be sure tots and eggs are even to ensure even cooking. Once eggs start to set turn heat to low and cover to cook the top of the eggs. You can flip it instead if you want, but I'm not coordinated enough to do it without ruining it.

* NOTE* Make sure all your prep is done BEFORE you pour the eggs. This round was way over-cooked  because I was trying to watch them and grate cheese...well that and I may or may not have forgotten to turn down my stove.

Once eggs are cooked, sprinkle with grated cheese, turn off heat, and place lid back on pan. The residual heat will melt the cheese.

Once cheese is melted serve immediately. I like mine with avocado, cholula, and a cottage cheese pear side, but you can do whatev. Enjoy!

Mr. Wonderful works swing now, so I will give you a rating of delish! It's super versatile and you can add whatever you want...if you do let me know how it works out! I'm thinking next time I'll try some spinach and mushrooms. The tricky part is mastering the measurements for the size of group you're making.

kristen's kitchen: roasted chicken

Up until a year ago nothing instilled fear in me like "roasting". I don't know why, but it always seemed so daunting, so scary, so HARD. Well folks I'm here to tell you that it's not as hard as it sounds. Actually it's a piece of cake.

Yesterday Mr. Wonderful and I got a well-deserved break from the one woman show of crazy that is his mother. He's been battling a cold the better part of the week and since his father and sister hate it (therefore making it difficult to serve for Sunday dinner), he decided he wanted roast chicken. I wanted something simple so I just did a basic recipe, but really the sky's the limit on this one.

I forgot to take pictures until after the fact, so you'll just have to use your imagination-again.

Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken
olive oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1tsp garlic powder

2 tsp thyme

1 cup water or chicken/veggie stock
Roasting pan with or without rack-I don't use a rack but if you have one and want to use it, by all means do so.

Place racks so roasting pan will be in center of oven and preheat to 375F

Mix seasonings in a small bowl; set aside.

Prep your chicken:

Remove chicken from package and giblets from body cavity (Liver, kidneys, sometimes neck. You can cook these, but I think they're gross so I throw them away), and rinse inside and out with cool water. Drain well and place breast-up in roasting pan.  (I place the chicken in the roasting pan and prep it there. This helps to keep the mess and possible contamination to a minimum.)
Check to ensure all the excess fat and pin feathers are removed, and pat dry with a paper towel. This helps to ensure a crispy skin, not to mention using your kitchen towels is just gross.
If you didn't buy a pre-trussed chicken, do this now.

Trussing a chicken is easy-it just takes a little time to master:
Place bird breast-up in pan.
Cross drumsticks at 'ankles' and bind with kitchen twine. (easiest way is to make a slip knot and attach to the 'ankles' and kind of hog tie them together.) This doesn't need to be pretty; you just want them to stay together during cooking.

Once bird is trussed drizzle a little olive oil (about a tablespoon) over it and spread with hands-don't forget the body cavity. Then rub seasoning mixture on skin and inside cavity. Add 1c water or broth to pan cover if your roasting pan has a lid, and place in oven.

The cooking times will vary based on how big your bird is. The general rule for UNSTUFFED chicken is 20 minutes per pound of meat, plus an additional 10-20 minutes. Confused? Me too. This link is my go to-as it has a cooking guide, general info, and tips on how to make variations to the basic recipe. I am afraid to eat stuffing from body cavities, but I am not opposed to putting things in there for extra flavor. Just be sure to use caution if you do choose to use the stuffing from your bird.

I covered and roasted my bird for an hour and 35 minutes. Be sure to baste your bird every 15-20 minutes if it's covered, but watch it if you don't have a cover for your roasting pan. You don't want the juices to cook off and dry the meat out. To baste you don't need anything fancy, just a large serving spoon. Just remove bird from oven, close the door to retain the heat, and spoon the juices over the bird. Recover, and put back in oven. If you want to roast veggies with your chicken don't put those in until the last 30 minutes-unless you like mushy veggies.

After the initial roasting time I like to put it uncovered into a 450 degree oven for an additional 10-15 minutes to brown and crisp up the skin.

The best way to check if your bird is done is to use a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone. Once it reads 180 you are good. If you don't have a thermometer there are other ways to check for doneness-the easiest is to cut between the leg and thigh and be sure the juices run clear.

Once bird is cooked remove to a plate, cover with foil, and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes. Resting allows for the juices to redistribute in the meat. If you cut the meat before it's had time to rest you lose all the cooking juices onto your cutting board and get dry meat. So do it. It's worth it. Plus it gives you time to make pan gravy with the drippings:

chicken gravy
1cup cold water
3tsp cornstarch
chicken drippings

milk or water

Place roasting pan on burner over medium heat. Mix water and cornstarch in small cup until blended and there are no lumps.

Whisk cornstarch mixture into drippings and stir continuously until thickened and everything is incorporated. If the gravy thickens too fast whisk in milk/water a little at a time until it reaches desired consistency.

Remove from heat and serve immediately with mashed taters or over the meat.

Carving your bird takes some practice, but super easy once you get the hang of it. Good reference link is here

Mr. Wonderful rating: went back for thirds...had to threaten him to leave some chicken for chicken noodle soup later in the week...

mama mel's super easy rice pilaf and kristen's grilled brussel sprouts

After my traumatizing revelation (on my birthday of all days), I regained the resolve to get my body back. Believe it or not I was not always the blob you all know and love-I did have an actual figure at one point. I just love food WAY too much and don't love the gym enough.

So last night I decided that grilled chicken was the way to go. Mr. Wonderful thinks I'm weird, but I was raised that a meal consisted of a protein, a vegetable, and a starch. So I put him in charge of choosing the veggies and picked up some lovely chicken breasts and the fixin's for my mom's rice pilaf. Once you try this you will never make it from the box again. Although this is the recipe I learned-I would imagine you can make it with any ingredients you want-the technique is all the same. I didn't think to take pictures until the end so you're gonna have to use your imagination on the prep steps.

Momma Mel's super easy rice pilaf (serves 2-4)

1/2 lb Crimini mushrooms (Liss, I'm sure you could sub zucchini or artichoke hearts for these. If you play around let me know what you come up with.)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1-2 cloves of chopped garlic-depending on how big they are
2 stalks celery, diced (optional-but I like the crunch and texture they add.)
Rice prepared according to package directions (I use brown minute rice because of my inability to not burn regular rice)
Olive oil (my mom uses butter cause she's old school, but I'm trying to keep it figure friendly)
salt and pepper (S&P)

Prepare rice according to directions. Set aside.

Heat medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, add a few tablespoons olive oil (I usually go around the pan once or twice), and a pinch of salt. When oil is warm-NOT hot, add onions and celery. Sweat onions and celery until they are tender-we aren't using these in a white sauce or soup, so if they have a little color, that's ok. You just don't want them sauteed. Once onions and celery are tender, add mushrooms, garlic, and a little more S&P* to pan. I usually need to add a little more olive oil to cook the mushrooms, but this is all to taste. (Cook's note on garlic: be VERY careful when you're cooking garlic as it burns in the blink of an eye. I always add it very last regardless of what the recipe calls for and NEVER cook it over high heat. Try to keep it on medium to low whenever possible.)

Once mushrooms and garlic are cooked, push all veggies to the side and add rice.
heat rice through and add a little color with the residual oil in pan, then combine with veggies. Taste for seasoning, add more S&P if needed.

This dish is great with poultry and pork. Even BETTER on the next day.

Cook time: 20 minutes if you're using minute rice.
Mr. Wonderful rating: went back for seconds

*Most people wonder why their food still tastes bland although they follow the recipe. The secret is to taste and season your food with each step (unless you're dealing with raw meat-duh). The goal is to build flavor as you go. I add salt and pepper with each step rather than a ton at the end. You're cooking-it's allowed, even expected that you're tasting and checking for seasoning as you go.  No one likes to serve a dish when they don't know how it tastes. As long as you're tasting it you can tweak it however you need to. Always start small and build. Anyone who's over salted a dish will tell you that you can always add more, but once you've gone too far you're S.O.L.



Brussels Sprouts get a bad rap. They are one of my favorites and not just for Thanksgiving anymore! I cook these several ways, but Mr. Wonderful managed to find HUGE ones I decided to grill them instead of caramelize them on the stove like I usually do. They turned out so well I may just I refuse to put my grill away so I can make them outside for a while. If you don't want to grill 'em outside you can use your grill pan.

Kristen's Grilled Brussels Sprouts
*you can make as many or as little of these as you like-it's pretty impossible to mess this up.

Brussels Sprouts (I usually can't find them in bulk so I have to buy them in the 1-2lb prepackaged mesh bags. Those usually yield 2-6 servings depending on how much you serve and if you have to fight to keep the grazers at bay like me.)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon pepper
2-4 Tbsp Olive Oil

With a paring knife prep sprouts-trim bottoms (be sure to only cut off a little, you want them to stay together) and remove any wilted top leaves. Using a prep knife cut in half length-wise-you can use the paring knife to cut them if they're small, but I always recommend using the right tool for the job at hand.)
Place halves in a colander and rinse quickly with cool water and drain.
Put oil and S&P in medium to large bowl and lightly whisk together (keep in mind you will need room to toss the brussels sprouts).
Place drained sprouts in bowl and gently coat with oil mixture, adding more oil if necessary-they should look wet but NOT saturated-you are only adding enough moisture so they will steam as they are on the grill.
(Be careful with the sprouts as they will fall apart if you toss too hard-some leaves is normal-I always taste those to make sure my seasoning is on.)

Place sprouts cut side down on the grill and cook over medium heat. You want grill marks on the cut ends so
only turn once*. These will burn quickly so you will have to baby sit them.
Remove from grill and serve or you can add grated Parmesan/Romano cheese if you're feeling extra scandalous.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Mr. Wonderful rating: I have to threaten him with his life to leave leftovers for lunch.

*Cooks note: I prefer my vegetables to still have a little bite to them once they're done, but if you prefer a softer veggie do a quick blanch before you coat in oil and put on the grill.

operation chicken bake failure

Two posts in one day? How do you rate!?

The problem with cooking is that it's not always perfect. This is especially the case with the recipes you come up with yourself.

Case in point:

My chicken broccoli mushroom bake. I've done variations on it for a few years and it's always scored a three-helping rating with Mr. Wonderful, so I figured last night would be the same. For whatever reason it fell flat and although he said it wasn't terrible Mr. Wonderful only finished what I served him-no seconds last night. This is a massive failure in my book. I'm usually shooing him away from the kitchen so there's still leftovers for him to take for lunch the next day.

I think I know what went wrong so I had every intention of sharing my recipe with you today, but I have decided that rather than sharing a sub-par recipe with you I'm headed back to the kitchen to perfect before I share. Hopefully the next take will be worth sharing.

I promise it looked better than it tasted. :(

lame?

I've always loved to cook, but now because I watch the Food Network all day at work I feel oh-so-qualified to share.

Really it's just because I'm single and am always looking for good recipes that don't give me a week's worth of leftovers.

Would it be a good idea to share them here? A lot of my friends have started food blogs, but let's face it, I have a hard enough time maintaining one, let alone two blogs.

Would you welcome the occasional recipe success here for your one stop shopping pleasure, or should I just start a new blog?

day nine

You know you are a boring adult when you get excited over the most boring things...on that note I give you my most recent non-food puchase...

I love chopping and slicing and dicing by hand. But it's hard to make sauces without one of these beauties. So last week I ventured to Target and picked one up. That night I made a lovely garlic spinach ricotta sauce for Mr. Wonerful and I. Here's to many more recipes!