No boring chicken this night!

Defrosted chix breasts awaited some magic transformation into dinner. Don't you sometimes just get tired of chix breasts? It's a good thing they provide lean, high quality protein, or I would have forsaken them long ago. We seasoned them with fajita seasoning, but still, the meal needed something to make it more intersting. Hadn't had rice for a while - maybe a pilaf of some sort? Light bulb moment! Fajitas = Mexican.

So here is my version of Spanish Rice.


Spanish Rice
Serves 4 normal eaters.

In 1 Tablespoon olive oil, saute 1/2 diced onion, 1 clove garlic till fragrant. Add 1 cup dry rice and stir till coated. Add one chopped tomato, salt and freshly ground black pepper (aka fgbp) to taste, a good pinch each of cumin and oregano and two cups water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer till rice is done.

Less sodium and cheaper than the box variety.

Very cute idea for spagetti and hot dogs

Here's what they look like

and here's where to find the recipe:
Spagetti dogs

Delicious 12 layer dip

I must be one of a handful of Americans who doesn't like sour cream. But, I do love plain yogurt. Yesterday while ripping the top off a new tub of Dannon Fat Free Plain, I noticed a recipe for this dip. Made with yogurt. Not sour cream.

Well, there's no time like the present to try a new recipe! It struck me that yogurt is runnier than sour cream, so I decided to strain the yogurt for a while to thicken it up. While that was happening, made a quick trip to Publix for the olives and refried beans.

The dip was delicious, and to save you the trouble of looking up the recipe, here it is:

2 1/2 cups ff plain yogurt, poured into a cheesecloth lined strainer and left for a couple of hours.
1 cup each sliced olives, shredded sharp cheddar, finely shredded lettuce, chunky salsa
1 can refried beans.

Mix beans with 1/3 cup salsa. Then layer in a glass pie plate or other flat dish:
1/2 the bean mixture
1 cup strained yogurt
1/2 cup olives
1/3 cup salsa
1/2 cup lettuce
1/2 cup cheese.
Repeat the layers.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill.

Serve with corn chips.

Lesson learned: Buy More Fabric Than You Think You Need

Especially when you don't have a plan for it yet.

This weekend I finally started working on the sashing for my Hawaiian quilt. I've been working on the applique on and off for several years. Now there are 48 paper pieced sashing pieces to make. 14 are complete and I am wondering whether I will have enough fabric to finish my design. I'm going to sew all the strips together so I can use every last inch from now on.

Last week I paged through an OLD Southern Living cookbook, and found an interesting sounding recipe for Wholewheat Spice Cake. It was delicious - more of a cookie bar than a cake. Ingredients include dates, raisins, cinnamon, honey, pecans and chocolate chips! Now don't you want some?

I forgot the picture! Guess I'll just have to make it again.

#2 Son's birthday dinner - finally!

The college kid finally had time to come home so we could celebrate his September birthday. 21 years old. Time sure does fly.

He requested Low Country Boil, one of my favorite dishes. It seems like a strange combination of ingredients, but they are just delicious together. In case you need a recipe, here is an easy one:

For 4 hungry eaters:
Scrub 8 medium white or red potatoes and put in a large saucepan with 1 package smoked sausage or kielbasa cut into one inch pieces. Add water just to cover, 1/2 a lemon, at least 1 Tablespoon of Old Bay seasoning and some cayenne pepper if you like things hot. Bring to a boil and cook 10 mins. Add 4 or more cleaned ears of corn and cook another 10 mins, or until the potatoes are soft. Add one pound of shrimp (I think they taste better if the skins are left on, but peeled is OK too) and cook a couple of minutes more.

Drain off the water, then pile everything onto a big platter, or onto some clean newsprint right on the table! Dig in and enjoy.

Corn bread, crusty bread and butter, salad or a green veg make it into a balanced meal.

Tomorrow I'm trying a cake from an old book I found in a friend's cupboard: Whole Wheat Spice Cake. Pictures to follow.

Birthday treats

This week was the Hubby's birthday, so a grand meal was in order. He requested lamb chops grilled over charcoal, a favorite thanks to the time spent in South AFrica. Well, in S.A. you can't have lamb chops without boerewors, usually just called wors, which means sausage. (Pronounce it "vorse") This is not just any sausage, but a local recipe made from beef, pork, pork fat, coriander and other spices. Simply delicious. There is nothing like it here in the States.

Never being afraid of spending a few hours in the kitchen, I decided wors was in order for the birthday boy. Usually the casings come from the local specialty food store, where for some unknown reason they charge a hefty chunk of change for them. What do you suppose the demand for sausage casings is? So this time, the sausage was made middle eastern style, wrapped around a skewer. Son #1 grilled them on the bbq. What a treat. They were mm, mm, good!

New Cat Toy

Bought some veggies today and left them lying on the counter for a while. Came back later to find the bag of green beans open. No one, repeat no one, in my family would choose to snack on a raw green bean. (Except me, of course), so I was wondering what happened. Guess who provided the answer? Angus!   So the next time you want to treat your kitty to a new toy, head to the green grocers!