Food + Wine

KING RANCH (ERS) CHICKEN THE LONG WAY AND HOMEMADE CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP

So, apparently the real name of this casserole I grew up eating is King Ranch Chicken, and NOT King Ranchers Chicken. It has always been King Ranchers Chicken to me! I first had it at the Hogan’s house when I was little. And I don’t know how the title got lost in translation. But, according to the very official recipe found in my very official teenage recipe book…

…I’ve always known it to be King Rancher’s Chicken (thanks, Barbara!!). I used to make it all the time when I was a new mom, and my husband fell in love with it. Then, I stopped making it somewhere along the way… most likely due to me not cooking a lot of casseroles and things made with canned and processed ingredients anymore, as the recipe calls for ‘cream of’ soups. But during this quarantine, we’ve found ourselves cooking and baking a lot of nostalgic things, so this dish popped back in my head!

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May 5, 2020 by
Food + Wine

ouzo honey lemonade

So we’ve had this bottle of Ouzo we bought for a Greek themed birthday party (remember parties?), and besides taking the post-party celebratory shot… the bottle has just been sitting there for months.

And I don’t like things without a purpose.

SO! I set out to give it one.

Before I begin, let it be known that I’m pretty sensitive to the flavor of black licorice. It’s not my favorite. I don’t hate it…

But it’s not my favorite.

I love fennel and tarragon and those lighter licoriiish flavors, but when we get right to that strong flavor of black licorice… it’s a bit of a challenge for me.

So, of course I wrote a recipe with it.

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April 30, 2020 by
Food + Wine

TWO INGREDIENT CHEATER BAGELS

Yes. You can make a very delicious bagel at home with only 2 ingredients. And you don’t have to wait for dough to rise, and you don’t have to boil anything first. WHAT???!! Yep. Is the texture slightly different? Well, yeah. It’s not a traditional bagel recipe or technique. But they’re so good!! And SO easy. Honestly, the best way I can describe the texture is Bagel with a hint of Biscuit. But specifically those ‘homestyle’ biscuits that come in the tube. Not the flaky layers kind, but the homestyle variety. You know 😉 .

They’re really truly super yummy.

I saw recipes like this pop up last year on a lot of those point-counting diet sites and never gave them the time of day. I LOVE bagels… and I think the fact that they had been advertised as anything diet just turned me off. But I looked into it, played around with it (a lot. We’ve had a LOT of bagels these past couple of quarantined months!) And just tweaked it to my liking… So here we are!

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April 25, 2020 by
Uncategorized

WHEN ASSUMING THE WORST IS BEST

I haven’t really spoken out about what’s going on in the world… partly because that’s what everyone is doing right now and I definitely do not consider myself the place someone would go for such information. But the more days that pass, the more I realize that this space has always been my safe space for sharing my life. It’s small, but it’s my small platform, and I own it. I take that very seriously. And my life right now just happens to have me going through something we all are going through at the same time. I can’t think of a time that has ever happened. This is not about politics or religion. This is not something that needs to divide us. This virus has no favorite or chosen one. This virus does not hold back. This virus does not respond or adapt to prayers or meditation (that can certainly and definitely help us get through it and I highly encourage finding your version of that to help you on a daily, personal level.) This virus does not care how you vote or where you live or what car you drive or the color of your skin or how much money you make or what’s between your legs. This virus is not opinion or belief. It is fact.

And it is fact for all.

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April 8, 2020 by
Food + Wine

Homemade Fortune Cookies

Hell yeah I made fortune cookies.

I even made ’em twice times.

The double batch was for science. I was not happy with how my first batch turned out – the flavor was spot on, but the texture was off. They were crunchy on the outsides like you want… but softer and kinda sticky in the middle, and they also didn’t cook evenly. Not good enough. SO. I fixed the problems today and am now a fortune cookie monster master.

Last night I made a Chinese take-out fake-out for the family, which was the first appearance of the homemade fortune cookie. It was such a fun project to work on during the day, with a delicious payoff in the end. I made vegetable lo mein and baked spring rolls and we ate on the floor in front of a movie in various forms of stretchy cotton.

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April 2, 2020 by
Food + Wine

Baked Sweet and Savories

I woke up before everyone else this morning and had ample time to think about food. I’ve been making sure every one of our meals is made with intention these days – focusing on not wasting and repurposing as much as possible, and getting even more creative with the meals than I normally do.

I mentioned last post that I have already written down all that I have in my fridge, freezer, pantry, etc. and mapped out what needs to be used first and various meal ideas. So I knew I had a loaf of cinnamon bread from a neighbor a few months back waiting patiently in my freezer.

< thought bubbles >

Obviously the first thought with such a bread would be french toast… but this loaf was pre-sliced and I actually don’t like french toast unless it’s super thick pieces, because I love the insides being tender from the custard and the outsides being crispy.

Sandwiches. It must be sandwiches.

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March 22, 2020 by