Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

For the past six months, I've had a package of cut-up chicken in my freezer. The other day I decided I should actually use it rather than let it sit there as decoration. I made a fabulous roast chicken and potato dish last night based off a recipe from Everyday Food. I served it with leftovers of the escarole saute I made on Monday.

Roast Chicken and Red Potatoes

1.5 lbs red potatoes, cut in large chunks
3 T butter, divided
Salt and Pepper
2 tspn Herbes de Provence
1 chicken, cut into eight pieces

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees
2. Layer potatoes in roasting pan and dot with 1.5 T butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and 1 tspn Herbes de Provence.
3. Bake potatoes for 20-30 minutes.
4. Place chicken, skin side up on top of potatoes. Dot with remaining 1.5 T butter, salt and pepper, and 1 tspn Herbes de Provence. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until done.

Dinner: Beef with Broccoli and Dessert: Pecan Tassies

I made dinner and dessert last night while blaring music over my iPod at high volume, because the fire alarm in our bedroom was going off. The past two days, I have arrived home to five blaring fire alarms. No fire, no smoke, just annoying beeping. The only way to stop the noise is to physically remove the fire alarms. I can't figure out what is setting them off. Perhaps the cold weather has something to do with it, but I'm not sure. Of course, as my luck would have it, the fire alarm in our bedroom is too high for me to reach, even with a ladder. Luckily I could tune it out with music. But it was a long few hours until Scott got home.

Here are recipes from last night's dinner and dessert (belated Christmas baking):

Beef With Broccoli Stir-Fry from www.recipezaar.com

25 min | 15 min prep

SERVES 4

3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
1/2 cup water, plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb boneless top sirloin steak, sliced thin
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 cups broccoli florets
1 small onion, sliced thin
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
hot cooked rice

1. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth. Add beef and toss.
2. In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.
3. Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes. Return beef to pan.
4. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

Pecan Tassies

Makes 24

3 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup flour
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tspn vanilla

1. Mix cream cheese, butter, and flour until it forms a dough. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Mix remaining ingredients.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
4. Form dough into 24 small balls and shape into small muffin tins.
5. Spoon filling into dough.
6. Bake 25-30 minutes.

New Year and New Books

The first week of the year was eventful for Scott and me. On New Year's Eve, I awoke to a bad ear infection and went to the doctor for a prescription for Penicillin. On New Year's day, I awoke to the itchy realization that I am allergic to Penicillin. This was a surprise, given that I've taken the drug numerous times before. At first, I thought I might be overreacting, because I had strong memories of last year's allergic reaction to a different antibiotic. But by the end of the day, I was pretty sure that I could add Penicillin to my list of allergies. The physician's assistant started me on a low dose of Prednisone on Friday, but by Wednesday the reaction was getting worse instead of better. So I switched over to a high dose of Prednisone. I'm currently weaning myself off the drug, but I'm at the point now where I'm feeling the side effects - extra hunger, extra energy, and screwy sleep patterns. I'm definitely on the mend now, but no more Penicillin for me.

Scott opened up his new year with a cold. After hearing people rave about their Netti Pots, he decided to try it. He says that it works pretty well, but it's not a cure-all. The sight of him pouring water into one nostril and seeing it flow out the other is, to me, hilarious. Personally, I'd rather suffer than have the self-drowning feeling of pouring water down my nose. But that's just me.

Here are reviews of a books I've read since Christmas:

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

A spell-binding book. The first in a trilogy, Hunger Games takes place in a post-American world where the country is divided into twelve districts. To punish citizens for prior revolts, the government requires each district to send one boy and one girl each year to the Hunger Games. This is a Survivor-type reality TV show where the participants fight to the death in a wilderness course. The winner is rewarded with wealth and status for their entire families. Katniss is from the poorest of the twelve districts. She volunteers to participate in the games in the place of her young sister. Her companion from her district is Peeta, the baker's son. The Hunger Games is a fascinating spectacle of show, bravery, competition, and sheer brutality. Katniss has to learn whom she can and cannot trust, or perhaps most importantly, just to learn to trust in anyone at all. The ending is inconclusive, obviously setting up for future books. The world Collins created has a lot of holes in it, but I am hoping that future books will clear up some of the poorly developed facts. Rating 4/5

Revelations by Melissa de la Cruz

This is the third book in the Blue Bloods series, which I wrote about in previous posts. I don't really have much new to say about these books. The third one is just as shallow and fluffy as the others. The storyline still intrigues me enough to continue with the series, but I was not as interested in this book as the other two. Rating: 2/5

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

This is the third book in the Vampire Academy series. All these books are an easy, thoughtless read - not as stupid as the Blue Bloods series, but still pretty shallow. Rose continues to mature in these books, becoming less annoying with each one. She was depressed most of this book. I felt bad for her rather than wanting to strangle her. The ending was really depressing and I'm hoping there is some sort of twist to the next book. I'm looking forward to continuing this series. Rating 2.5/5

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Princess Academy is a sweet, innocent book probably most appropriate for girls ages 10-12. The main character is a 14-year old girl named Miri, who lives in a poor mining community of a great kingdom. Tradition dictates that the prince choose a wife from a region of the kingdom named by the astrologers/priests. When Miri's region is selected as the location of the prince's future wife, all teenage girls are required to go to a "Princess Academy" for a year to train them to be proper princesses. The academy starts out with a fiercely competitive spirit which gradually changes as the girls grow closer and come to rely upon each other. The book ends with a little bit of action and a nice conclusion. All in all, it was a satisfying book, although nothing too special. Rating: 3/5

Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

A prequel to L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gable series, this book covers Anne Shirley's life before she arrived in Avonlea. It begins shortly after her parents marry and ends as she is leaving for the Bright River train station. The beginning of the book, before Anne was old enough to have a personality, was slow and boring. But the book picks up as Anne gets older. Wilson envisions Anne being placed with people who mean well, but are too busy or downtrodden to do anything but treat her badly. She is essentially a servant from the time she is a toddler. The book stays very loyal to Montgomery's series, although it lacks some of the innocence and hope of the Green Gables series. Perhaps this is due to the era in which Wilson wrote her book but I think it is mostly due to the fact that Anne's childhood had little joy in it, except for what she created herself. Rating: 3.5/5

Sunday Dinner and Leftovers

Sunday I made a tasty, improvised soup with sausage, beans, and spinach. Other than chopping up a bunch of vegetables, it was very easy. And I made my favorite pop-overs to go with the soup.

Sausage and Bean Soup

1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 oz turkey kielbasa, sliced thin
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) cannelloni beans
6 cups chicken broth
1 sweet potato, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tspn Italian seasoning
pinch rubbed sage
1 tspn salt
Pepper
3-4 oz chopped spinach

1. Saute onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in a bit of olive oil until soft. Add kielbasa and cook until sausage is slightly browned.
2. Add rest of ingredients. Cook until potatoes are soft.
3. Add spinach.
4. Serve with grated Parmesan.

No-Beat Popovers

I found this recipe last year on www.recipezaar.com and make it frequently. I usually forget to add the salt, but it really is better with salt. You won't find a simpler pop-over recipe. I served this with homemade honey-butter.

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 tspn salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix together ingredients. Pour into pop-over pan (you could probably use a regular muffin pan, but the baking time will likely differ).
3. Bake for 30 minutes.

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On Monday, I mixed the rest of the sausage with a package of Asparagus Risotto from Trader Joe's. For a side dish, I made a dish out of escarole. I had bought a head of it to put in Sunday's soup, but when I got home, I wasn't sure if it actually was escarole - I thought it might just be lettuce. I looked it up on the Internet today and realized that I had indeed purchased escarole, so I found a recipe to use it.


Sauteed Escarole, adapted from a recipe on www.recipezaar.com. The balsamic vinegar adds a lot to the dish. Don't leave it out.

1 onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 head escarole, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 tspn salt
pinch red pepper flakes
Balsamic vinegar

1. Sautee onion and garlic over low heat until soft.
2. Add escarole, chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high until escarole is wilted.
3. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar to taste. Add more salt and pepper as necessary.