i'ma get, get, get, get you drunk

so i made this stew the other night that was too good not to share.  luckily it's made with a lot of things you probably already have, which means it's not one of those super expensive recipes with ingredients you don't keep on hand, much less have ever heard of!  but i have to confess something to you: i've actually never cooked with beer, so this was a first.  because it calls for about a bottle of guinness, i did wonder if i'd end up table dancing during dinner seeing as how it takes little more than a sip for my frank the tank to come out.  but, good news, it didn't impair my judgement or my inhibitions!

what you'll need:
- 6 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 3 pieces bacon, chopped
- 1 2/3 cups Guinness beer
- 1 pound whole baby carrots
- 1 8 ounce package cremini or button mushrooms, chopped
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups frozen baby peas, thawed

what you need to do:
- combine 6 tablespoons flour with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. dredge chicken thighs in the mixture to coat completely; transfer to a plate.
- heat 4 teaspoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. add the chicken and cook until well browned, 2 to 4 minutes per side; transfer to your crock pot. arrange the chicken in an even layer in the slow cooker.
- add bacon to the pan and cook. sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup flour over the bacon and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes more.
- add beer and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  pour the mixture over the chicken.
- add carrots, mushrooms, onion, garlic and thyme, spreading in an even layer over the chicken. pour broth over the top.
- cover and cook until the chicken is falling-apart tender, 4 hours on high or 7 to 8 hours on low.
- stir in peas, cover and cook until the peas are heated through, 5 to 10 minutes more. season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.

it's a different flavor than the typical stew, as the beer almost gives a slight sweet flavor, but man is it good!  let me know if you try it out and what you think of it!  and have a great weekend!

get in mah belleh

i like the eating, i don't like the cooking.  sometimes i get lucky though and come up with something that's almost as easy to make as it is to eat.  enter this pasta salad.  i don't know if it has a name since i made it up.  chris and i ate some similar to this last month in an overpriced hipster cafe, and my taste buds fell in love.  my first attempt at making it was sort of bland, but i think i've nailed it down because the last two times i made it i couldn't get enough.  so i thought i'd share!

let's call it "overpriced hipster pasta salad."  you will need:
> 1.5 cups of uncooked pasta shells
> 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
> 3 TBSP olive oil
> 1-2 diced garlic cloves, depending on how much you like garlic
> 2 tsp dried basil
> as much asiago cheese as you want (i use about a handful because i love it)
> diced cherry tomatoes (as many as you want)

it's pretty self-explanatory from here, but for the sake of recipes, i should give more instructions!  boil the pasta and strain it.  in a large bowl add the cooked pasta, all of the ingredients and mix it all up!  this should chill for a few hours before serving because it tastes better cold, and the flavors have a chance to mix together better when it's chilling.

let me know if you try it, i'd love to hear what you think!

so this is the last day that i'll be blogging until about this time next week since chris and i are leaving for the beach for a few days.  well, if i decide not to wear sunblock and get sunburned to my bones (which i'm afraid to say has happened more than once) and i'm stuck inside because it hurts to stand up, then maybe i'll blog before we get back, otherwise, i'll see you in a week!

get in mah belleh

WOOO, it's friday!  since tuesday night, i've been feeling like friday would never get here.  not that i have any crazy parties or elaborate plans, but i have a painting i want to work on and i'm excited!  anyway, remember how i told you earlier this week about the blueberry pancakes i made last sunday for breakfast?  i don't really enjoy cooking all that much, but sometimes i get excited about making something new, something i know i'll love.  so i wanted to share it with you!

 it takes some preparation and mixing time, but it really is easy.  so here's what you'll need:

- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teasooon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed
- an appetite

in a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and set aside.  in a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl; add milk and melted butter. stir egg mixture into dry ingredients and mix until batter is smooth and stir in blueberries. fold in beaten egg whites. then cook!

i hope you have a great weekend, and let me know if you decide to try the pancakes!

jewels and cooking.

after slow start i feel like i've had a pretty productive day as far as filling orders is concerned, but wow, i still have so much more work to go. anyway, i have two things that make me happy to share with you, so let's start of with one of my favorite things: FOOD! last night marks my first attempt at making baked potato soup, and can i just say that i rocked my own world? because i did.

want to make it? here's how! what you'll need:

4 large baking potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup all purpose flour
6 cups milk
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz sour cream
chives to taste (i used about 1 1/2 TBSP)
1/2 cup bacon, fried and crumbled (of course i used more)

bake potatoes until done, scoop out and throw skins away. melt butter in saucepan, add flour, stir until completely mixed. slowly stir in milk and cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. add potatoes you scooped out earlier, salt, pepper, chives, bacon, cheese. mix in sour cream. add additional milk if it's too thick.

easy peasy, and SUPER delicious! next on the list of things that make me happy: boxes that showed up at my door yesterday. my mom and her husband paul will be moving from pennsylvania to their house in florida soon, so in the process of downsizing, she boxed up scrapbooks she put together of art projects i made in school, birthday party remnants, her journal from when i was a baby, a journal she wrote when i had surgery, pictures, baby clothes and toys, and my favorite: jewelry that belonged to my granny maude (my dad's grandma that died when i was in fifth grade). granny maude and i were so close, and when she died i was heartborken; i felt like i didn't know how to spend my summers any longer, and i wasn't sure that life could ever go on. i was allowed to pick out a few pieces of her costume jewelry, but since i was young, my mom told me she was keeping them until i was older. i was absolutely livid and didn't understand why i could keep the jewelry myself. it turns out she was right, i would have lost it, and i'm glad it's been kept safe for me all these years. before i saw her note that the jewelry was granny maude's, i instantly knew exactly where it was from, and because i miss my granny every day, i got kind of teary-eyed. i'm so happy to have the jewelry, and i know i'll wear it and cherish it forever.

the other week i did a post with some vintage favorites that i wanted oh-so-badly, and can you believe this, but beca surprised me with one of my picks for christmas!!! she's such a true and amazing friend, and i can't wait to show you my new dress when i wear it later this week!

it's orange, it's delicious, it isn't pumpkin: a recipe

i'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but up until this weekend, i was a butternut squash virgin. of course i knew what it was, and i'd seen recipes for it here and there, but for some reason, i just never tried any - until last week. i'm guilty of finding recipes i kind of like, and then basically rewriting them to suit my tastes. so i saw a recipe for butternut squash (where, i can't remember) and knew that i liked some of the ingredients, but not others, so i figured i'd give it a go and make up my own. i wasn't disappointed!

we'll call it crusted butter nut squash. oh, and before we get to the details, i have to tell you this: chris is what you might call a food snob - he'll say he doesn't like a food without ever trying it, or if he didn't like a food fixed a certain way twenty years ago, he doesn't want to try it fixed another way now. anyway, when i told him that i was going to fix butternut squash he turned his nose up and said it didn't sound good. obviously the man's crazy. when he cut a bite to put in his mouth, the look on his face suggested he was about to eat a turd, but once he started chewing, he realized it was actually good and told me the only way he'd eaten it before was when his mom would bake it with cinnamon. so the moral of the story is, don't say you don't like something without at least trying it!

for this recipe you will need:
-1 butternut squash
-1/3 cup bread crumbs
-1/3 cup parmesan cheese (the real kind, not the powder kind)
-1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
-1/2 teaspoon oregano
-1/2 teaspoon basil
-olive oil

*i think the next time i make it i'll use a little more garlic and spices, but you should make it according to how much you like the spices.

cut the squash into slices about 1/4" thick (you can go thicker, but it will take longer to cook) and peel the skin off. pour some olive oil into a large freezer bag and toss the squash in; be sure the squash is coated in olive oil so the crust will stick. mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and dip the squash in making sure to cover it well! bake at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until the squash is done.

then serve it to your husband and tell him he better like it or... i'll let you finish that part. if you decide to try it, let me know what you think!