Comfort Food and Cooler Weather on the Way.....

I think today was probably Summer's "last hoorah" around here.  The temperature rose up near 90 degrees....but, change is definitely on the way.  It should really start to cool off tomorrow and be down around 40 by the time we get up on Wednesday morning.  Yippee!!!

We got some wonderful rain last weekend, so maybe that moisture combined with the "cold" will help bring about a bit of colorful Autumn foliage.....maybe.....


Oh, how I wish I could look out my front door and see a view like this......

 

Seriously, I would be in Autumn-maniac Heaven!!!


But, alas, I live in Central Texas and mesquite and mulberry trees just don't "turn" those beautiful colors.  They simply go from green to brown, with maybe a day or two of mustard thrown in for good measure. 


At any rate, in anticipation of the cooler weather headed our way, I got the ingredients together and had Eddie "dump" a meal in the crockpot this morning.  Chicken Taco Chili......I'm salivating just smelling it waft throughout the house since I arrived back from the office.  I found the recipe online and it's definitely "a keeper"!  (See the original post at SkinnyTaste.com)


If you want to give it a try, here ya go: 

1 onion, chopped

1 16-oz. can black beans

1 16-oz. can kidney beans

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce

10 oz. package frozen corn kernels (I put a little more than this - we like the corn!)

2 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes w/chilis (Rotel - we like the spicy stuff)

1 packet taco seasoning (I use reduced sodium variety)

1 Tbsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. chili powder

24 oz. (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts

chili peppers, chopped (optional)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (topping)

 

Combine everything but the chicken and cilantro; stir it all up in the crockpot.  Place chicken breasts on top.  Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours.  Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred.  Return chicken to the crockpot and mix it all in; let simmer for last half hour.  Top with fresh cilantro.  

 

Also very tasty topped with a dollop of sour cream, some crushed Tostitos and grated cheese.  Friends, this is COMFORT FOOD at its best....and so super simple to make!!!  Doesn't it look yummy???

 

 

Warm hugs.....

Jane

The Pioneer Woman....I Ain't!!!

One of the first blogs - and still one of my most favorite - I discovered was Ree Drummond's, "The Pioneer Woman".  Don't you just love her?!?!?  Many aspire to have as huge an impact and as large a following as the original blog-pioneering woman, but few will ever equal her - in Blogworld or in the kitchen.

I did a post some time ago about some of my favorite cookbooks.  Eddie had recently given me a signed copy of "The Pioneer Woman Cooks".  What a fabulous cookbook!  I have spent many hours, thumbing through the pages and dreaming of creating such yummalicious meals as she does. 

And now she has a terrific new show on The Food Network!  Have you caught it on Saturday mornings yet?

A few weeks back, she made macaroni & cheese for her son's birthday celebration.  Oh, my Lord...it looked so tasty!!!  I pulled out the cookbook, found the recipe and decided to give it a try.

Now, I could tell from the ingredient list that this recipe was going to make roughly a ton of mac & cheese (you need four cups of raw macaroni elbows - that's a lot for us empty-nesters).  But, that was okay....

We love mac & cheese.

We will enjoy this for days!!!

So, I proceeded to put together all the ingredients and give it a whirl.

Right away, I encountered a problem.  The recipe calls for plain ol' flour - all I had was some whole wheat flour.  But, I figured since I use it a lot in cooking, this shouldn't be a big deal. 

WRONG!!!  

As I started simmering and stirring the rue, I realized that both the color and texture of whole wheat flour were going to change the appearance of the dish drastically.  Maybe I'm just so accustomed to seeing that neon-glow-in-the-dark-orange tint that you get with the box of Kraft mac & cheese.  In comparison, this just looked so.....

Unappetizing!

The cooking progressed and I grew more and more dismayed that my mac & cheese wasn't going to look like her's.  I got so upset about it that I completely forgot to stir all the seasonings into the rue before I started adding cheese.  In fact, I forgot all about them until I spotted the small bowl of pre-measured seasonings sitting there by the stove when I shut the oven door to start baking the prepared dish!!!! 

I immediately grabbed the large skillet filled with about 20 pounds of yucky, tan-toned mac & cheese out of the oven and stirred in the seasonings.  At this point, I was just about in tears....which, for some reason, seemed to annoy Eddie Dale immensely.  So, I slammed the dish back into the oven, shut the door and began to clean  up the mess in the kitchen.  (I might insert here that I was already a little PMS'y this day...)

Let me point out that my selection of the oversized oven-proof skillet in which to bake the dish was not optimal, either!  After the required cooking time, I pulled out the finished product and started serving it up.  Unfortunately, the crust was truly a "crust" - thick, dark brown and overcooked, downright crunchy.  So, I realized we would just have to scoop out the inside and avoid the vast burnt expanse of the edges.  Ugh...

All I can say is that it was an "experience".  Not a pleasant one, necessarily....nor a tasty one.  The use of the whole wheat flour definitely changed the dish - and not for the better! After we suffered through the meal, Eddie carefully avoiding making any eye contact with me, I carried the skillet of leftovers straight to the trash can and unceremoniously dumped it!

The silver lining to this debacle - we had prepared her "comfort meatballs" as the main dish and I can say that they turned out to be awesome!  Thank goodness!!!  Because my version of the mac & cheese was a total disappointment.

And now you know why I love to collect cookbooks and gaze longingly at them.....because my experiences in actually preparing dishes according to the recipes are sometimes quite disastrous!

Keeping it real in the kitchen, y'all....

Jane

Chicken & Dumplings...the Perfect Comfort Food

There is definitely a chill in the air here....Autumn has arrived, in all its splendid glory!!!

I've been waiting for some cooler weather to break out the stockpot and make my first batch of chicken & dumplings for the season.....I figure it's about time!!!

My mom taught me the simplest way to make chicken & dumplings and it never fails.  Everyone loves it so I always make enough for leftovers.

It's sooooo simple....here is all you need....

Chicken breasts, milk, 1 stick butter, pepper, seasoned salt, celery seed, canned biscuits

 A large stock pot, preferably non-stick

I boil 3 large chicken breasts in seasoned water.  To season the water, I use black pepper, celery seed and Mrs. Dash.  (Of course, I realized today - after going to the grocery store - that we are out of Mrs. Dash; so, I am using the old stand-by favorite, Lowry's seasoned salt.)

Once the breasts are cooked, I set them aside to debone and cut into chunks.  I reserve about 1-1/2 inches of the seasoned stock created from cooking the breasts.....

To this, I add a stick of butter (or margarine), and an equal amount of milk.

While I am waiting for the liquid to simmer, I take 3 cans of "whomp" biscuits.  (You know, those small canned biscuits that you "whomp" on the edge of the counter to split open?)  On a cutting board covered with an ample of amount of flour, I flatten each biscuit and cut it into fourths.....or sixths....just depends on my mood.

Once the liquid is just beginning to come to a slow boil, simply drop the floured and cut biscuit pieces into the mixture, a few at a time, always stirring.  It's really important that you get the liquid just to that boiling stage or else the dumplings won't plump up and float to the top!  The "plumping" is key to a good dumpling.  Equally important, to stir and keep the temperature from getting too hot and the mixture from boiling over. 

Just coming to a boil...perfect!!!

Your dumplings should "plump up" and float to the surface for the first few minutes

Once I have all the dumplings in, I simply set the heat so that they simmer nicely and keep them stirred every few minutes so they don't scorch or stick together.  Generally, it will take around 45 minutes to get the dumplings cooked to the consistency we like.

When the dumplings are almost done, about the last 10-15 minutes, I stir in the chopped (or chunked) chicken meat. 

This is what the dogs look like when I am cutting up the chicken....just waiting for me to drop a piece or give them a nibble....

To finish seasoning, I add lots of freshly ground black pepper and Mrs. Dash (okay, seasoned salt...).

And, voila!  There you have it....super simple chicken & dumplings, the perfect comfort food on a cool, Autumn evening.

Now, this makes a really big pot of food, but I have three strapping guys to eat it all up!  If you reduce the chicken to 2 breasts and the biscuits to 2 cans, it is just about right for two people to have second's and then a leftover meal the next day.  (Just add a little milk or water to it when warming it up.)

It was great to have the boys and Sam's "baby", Savanna, with us for dinner tonight.  We wiped out the entire pot of dumplings and had a wonderful evening!!!  

 I am linking up with Funky Junk Interiors' Saturday Night Special,  where you can check out a array of blogs in three different categories.  How's that for adding a little variety and spice to your life???

Now, a special "Howdy and Welcome" to those of you visiting from Java's blog-hop, "Follow Friday 40 and Over"!!!  I hope you will stay and browse around The Porch for a bit and leave me a note!


Stay warm wherever you are....

~Jane~

A Day Off With Eddie....

What a wonderful day off - right here in the middle of the week.

My Husband is one of the hardest working men I have ever known!  Since he works in the retail industry, he has to work a lot of weekends.  Bummer!  But, it also means he has a day or two off in the middle of the week....a day we get to enjoy together while the rest of the world is working.

For those of you who don't know him, this is Eddie.

 I truly look forward to these days off!  Of course, there's always something that needs to be done....like today, it was the yard that needed mowing.  But, we worked together on that and, I must say - we make a "bang up" team!  I mow, sweep and clean up; he edges and does the "weed whacking".  When we were all done today, our little house sparkled like a gem!

Just look at that professional edging job!

Once we get the "honey-do" list done, we get to play some.  Today, we decided to hit the local Farmers' Market.  Pepper bounced and bounced, begging to go....so, we gave in....

Pepper always loves to ride along!

The market was smaller than I expected in a town this size, but it was still fun!  We saw alot of squashes, black-eyed peas and cantaloupes and watermelons.  One vendor even had some fresh figs, persimmons and a trio of early pumpkins!  I wanted one soooooo bad, but decided to wait until the real harvest comes in here in a few weeks.  It's early in the season yet.

After the excursion to the market, we headed to the barber shop for Eddie to get a good grooming.  It's a little backyard barber shop - literally, it is in a little building in the barber's backyard!  If he is in the house having a cup of coffee, you just ring the little doorbell on the shop door and he comes out the back gate to the shop.  It was amazing how fast he worked - I think it took all of three minutes for him to clip Eddie's (remaining) hair!

We finally ended up at Lowes to look at garage doors.  Ours is in a sad state of decay - no saving it!  While we there, we played the "Let's Pretend We Have All the $ in the World" game and looked at doors for the front and side entryways.  From the entire selection, we both picked the very same doors for both places!  Guess you could say we are totally in tune on such things.  (Thank goodness!)

Our choice for the front entry....

....and for the side entry.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent with some quality "down time".  The heat from yard work and all the running around had finally zapped us.  For me, this meant curling up with the dogs for a nap; for Eddie, it meant working on his blog.  (If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, just click HERE  for a sample - the man has Passion and an Opinion.)


As evening approached and the temperature outside started to cool, he fired up the grill and cooked some pork kabobs and grilled the summer squash and zucchini we bought fresh this morning.  Oh, gosh, it was wonderful!  How LUCKY am I to be married to a man who LOVES TO COOK?!?!?     

And now the moon has risen, and our day is winding down.  My heart is filled with Gratitude for this day.  It's been a good - no, make that a wonderful - day!  We didn't do anything "special", but we enjoyed working and being together.  That's what made it "special".

I'm linking up with Heart and Home for Wednesday Gratitude and Chatting at the Sky for Tuesday Unwrapped.  I hope you will check out both of these blogs for some wonderful inspiration! 

Did something Simple make your Heart sing today?  I sure hope so!!!

Jane

A LiTtLe SeCrEt....

Wanna know what's sexy in my book? Lean in...a little closer now...c'mon, you know you want to hear what I'm about to say...A MAN WHO COOKS!!! Now that is the epitome of SeXy!

A man who really knows his way around the kitchen was a novel idea to me. All my life, I was surrounded by women who were whizzes in the kitchen. Mymommy could whip up just about anything in her tiny little kitchen. MaMa could fry chicken like no one else. My mother cooked everything from Thanksgiving dinner to the most scrumptious chocolate chip cookies in our little house on Blair Street. But, the only memories I had of a man cooking were my Dad grilling steaks on a barrel-turned-grill out on the patio.

Well, when Ed came into my life, my whole way of thinking on who really runs the kitchen was turned topsy-turvy. Sure, this man was always talking about cooking and recipes, but I was skeptical. The first time he offered to cook for me, I turned in my order for fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy with rather low expectations. Not only did he prepare a delicious meal, he aced it! And stole my heart. From there, he introduced me to some wonderful new dishes like blackened catfish, homemade fettucini alfredo, grilled pork tenderloin with raspberry chipotle sauce...and the list goes on and on.

What makes Ed a ChEf, as opposed to just a cook, is that he is absolutely fearless in the kitchen. He creates his own sauces, seasonings and rubs. He loves to make as much as possible from scratch. He utilizes the grill for vegetables and side dishes. He blends flavors and ingredients and uses dozens of kitchen "gadgets". He's an artist with food, creating culinary masterpieces!

Yikes, I'm sounding like The Food Network. But, it's all so true!!!

And trust me when I say it's the ultimate "turn-on" to have a man preparing a meal for you. Even more so I jump in there and we cook together! Working as a team in the kitchen and then sitting down to enjoy the fruits of our labors is a prime example of marital bliss.

So, men, listen up! Want to know a sure-fire way to impress a woman? Win her heart? Watch Food Network. Read some cookbooks. Get in the kitchen and practice a bit. I guarantee if you make the effort, you will reap the rewards!

And to you, Ed, I'll continue to clean the kitchen as long as you continue to cook for me!