My family's journey down the road less traveled....

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner...

I love to cook and I hate to cook.  I'm contrary like that.  I enjoy creating meals and having people rave about how amazing it tastes.  Despite my lack of social life, I love the thrill of planning a menu and cooking for crowds.  It's the whining I encounter round about 6pm when the Oompas as the dreaded question of, "what's for dinner" and they don't like the answer.  Ugh, that again!?!?  Yes, you impertinent little monkey, we're having that, again.  It's the again that's killing us.

I'll let you all in on a secret.  Ready??  Here goes...Mr. Awesome© is a creature of habit.  You name a restaurant in the central Ohio region and I'll tell you exactly what he would order.
Olive Garden: Chicken Alfredo (he'll then proceed to have the waiter grind 2lbs of Parmesan cheese on top)
Max & Erma's: Loaded Skins off the appetizer menu
El Campisino: Beef Taco Salad, extra cheese
Taco Bell: Burrito Supreme no red sauce, extra sour cream and a chili cheese burrito, extra cheese
Wendy's: Asiago Ranch Chicken Club, add cheese and guacamole
Frisch's: 2 plates of chili spaghetti (al a carte) and 4 dinner rolls.  He has NEVER in his life ordered anything but chili spaghetti.  No Big Boys for him!

You get the point.  If he planned our weekly menu it would read: chili, loaded skins, baked nachos, spaghetti, pizza.  Repeating over and over and over again!

I got adventurous this week and *shock and horror*, tried two new recipes I found over on One Hundred Dollars a Month.  Thanks Mavis!!  Of course, he's worked late, very late, every night this week and ended up stopping on the way home for takeout.  At least the kids liked the new dishes!

Curry Chicken

2 chicken boneless chicken breasts cut in bite sized pieces (original recipe uses precooked chicken)
1 large onion, chopped
Several cups assorted veggies (snap peas, broccoli, peppers, carrots-not included in original recipe)
3 tablespoons sesame oil (original recipe calls for olive oil)
5 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 ½ teaspoons ginger
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 cups chicken broth
**I have had horrible experiences adding flour to recipes like this as it got all lumpy.  In this case I added a cup or so of the broth to the bowl with all my flour and spices then mixed well to make a slurry.  Make for a smooth sauce**

Directions
In a heavy pan saute chicken in sesame oil till cooked.  Add vegetables and cook on medium-high till tender. Add chicken broth, honey, and soy sauce, to the pan and stir. **Slowly whisk in flour, curry, ginger, and salt until there are no lumps.  Reduce heat, and let simmer for 30 – 45 minutes until all the flavors are combined and the sauce has reduced a bit. Serve over a bed of warm rice.

Crock Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients
2 or 3 chicken breasts
1/4 cup lime juice
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups frozen corn
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can {1 1/2 cups} black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin

Directions
Place all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on low or 4- 6 hours on high until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Serve over rice or with tortillas and all the fixings.

What's nice about this meal is that you can dump everything into a freezer bag for busy days. Just pull out of the freezer the night before to thaw, dump in your Crock Pot and presto...dinner!!


Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

Coffee Talk with my Subconscious...

Mrs. Awesome: Thanks for meeting me Subconscious.  I'm a little disturbed about the off the freakin' wall dreams of late and wanted to see what's going on with you.

Subconscious: Yeah, whatever.  I don't really see the big deal.  I still get coffee, right?

Mrs. Awesome:  No big deal?!?!  Dreaming about being in rehab with Whitney Houston and having GIANT freakin' squirrels use my hands as pacifiers is totally a BIG deal!!

Subconscious:  Can't blame me entirely, the rehab part was probably because of your high levels of alcohol consumption...ever think of that??

Mrs. Awesome:  I don't drink that much.  Only enough to drown out the Oompas' whining.....okay yea,  I see your point on that one.  They just whine so damn much!!!  That still doesn't explain the awful dream where I was doing my bidness on a toilet in the middle of a living room filled with relatives!  You gotta admit that's out there.

Subconscious:  Hee, hee, hee.....(clears throat), um, I mean that must have been horrible.  I got nothing on that one though.  Maybe you're really an exhibitionist in hiding??

Mrs. Awesome: Doubtful.  Now, about last night's "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride"...the Amish?  Really?

Subconscious:  Don't dis the Amish.  They're wonderfully, simple folk who really know their way around a quilt.

Mrs. Awesome: You are so frustrating!!  Get serious!! What are you trying to tell me that can be perceived by dreaming about Amish men submitting bids for my hand in marriage?  Why was the one guy trying to speak to me in German?  I don't know German, except for a few words I learned by watching  the Sound of Music.

Subconscious:  Drugs.  You must have taken drugs.

Mrs. Awesome:  I do not take drugs.  At least not the kind you buy in the ghetto from some shady character named Snake.

Subconscious: Yea, cuz' his name is Harry.

Mrs. Awesome:  It's Barry and bite me.  At least explain why my Dad was seriously considering some of the offers. Selling me off to the highest bidder?!?!

Subconscious:  Have you met you?  If I was your Dad, I'd do the same.  Now gimme my coffee!!

Saturday, October 05, 2013

What I Did Instead of Writing My English Essay...

Damn you Pinterest and your eleventy million amazing crafty projects that I want to make yet never seem to have the time!!  Until today.  I got my inspiration from Lynette over at Cleverly Simple and knew, after seeing her massive failure of a first attempt, that this was one project I could tackle.  By the way, if any of you are in the central Ohio area and are interested in learning how to save money, check out Lynette's seminars on couponing.  Fantastic!!  She breaks it all down and makes the process of using coupons a breeze.

Anywho...here is my take on the pool noodle and yarn wreath:



Here's to successful recreations of Pinterest pins!  Guess I'll be spending tomorrow working on that essay.