An Expensive Weekend

My husband and I are currently having a financial withdrawal. Our fridge decided to go on the blink. We have been looking at fridge's for several months with the intent to purchase one either mid-summer or early fall. Our plans have been changed. We went to Lowe's and purchased the Whirlpool Gold, stainless finish, complete with ice maker and water dispenser. Our hopes are that the Goldens do not figure out how to dispense ice, one of their favorite treats.

In part of the remodeling of our house, we have decided that we want tile in the kitchen. We have gone to Dalton, Home Depot, Lowes, and Home Depot Expo. We knew that porcelain tile would be the best, it was down to which one. The tile has to have texture since the Goldens will be walking on it and we don't want them to slip and slide. I liked the rugged edges of several of the tiles we saw, he liked some of the brown tiles. We finally came down to a choice of two, a gray or a brown tile, both the same price. We chose the the brown as it would go with the colors we are putting in the house.

All I can say is **ouch**

Experimenting with the past

Today I tried to make a meal like my grandmother would make. As it was Easter I wanted to give my husband the option of what he wanted for dinner, ham, pasta, or fried chicken. He chose fried chicken and I started trying to remember how my Granny made the best chicken I have ever had. The meal was so-so, not the best, I will just have to try again. The chicken needed more salt and had a puffy crust, I forgot to make the green beans, the biscuits were a bit heavy, the gravy was bland, and the Red Velvet Cake needed less butter (I misread the recipe and added too much butter to the cake).

Menu:
Fried Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Green Beans
Biscuits
Red Velvet Cake

Fried chicken:
Soak chicken in buttermilk overnight.
Batter of flour, salt, pepper, cayene pepper.
Egg dip with buttermilk.

I dipped the chicken in flour, egg, then flour again. Next time I will try just dipping in egg then flour. Fry over medium-high or medium heat. I put chicken on a cooling rack over a biscuit pan in a warm (200F) oven until time to serve.

Biscuits
Recipe came from America's Test Kitchen

Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon white vinegar
3 large eggs
1 (1-ounce) bottle liquid red food coloring
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugar, vanilla, and vinegar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add food coloring, beating until combined.
Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch cakepans.
Bake at 350° for 20 to 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 5 minutes; remove from pans, and cool on wire racks.
Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on tops and sides of cake.

Yield: Makes 1 (2-layer) cake

Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2001

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy; gradually add sugar and vanilla, beating well. Stir in pecans.
Yield: Makes 3 cups

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=521678 http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=258799

Chicken Primavera With Parmesan Pasta

This is a delicious recipe, I made it with homemade French bread. My darling husband was in the yard moving dirt and digging up a crepe myrtle tree. I drove the dogs crazy with fresh homemade yeast bread. There was drool everywhere. I also paired it with a devil's food cake, straight out of the cake mix box. While I was finishing everything, my husband grated fresh parmesan cheese and sliced the chicken. I forgot the onion, the tomatoes, used frozen french cut green beans, used Greek seasoning instead of Italian (didn't have Italian in the cabinet), used dried parsley, added a little extra wine since the sauce was somewhat dry before I finished cooking the chicken. The Kerry Gold Irish Garlic Herb butter is WONDERFUL! Very expensive ($1.99 for 1 stick) but was delicious on the hot bread and can see using it again in the future.



Suggestions - this is not a meal for 2 people. There were plenty of leftovers for us to take to work the next day. Also, the vegetables are not pretty the second day. They are, well, brown.



Chicken Primavera

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

7–8 sprigs fresh Italian parsley (rinsed)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, divided

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 medium yellow squash (rinsed)

1 medium zucchini (rinsed)

1 cup fresh green beans (rinsed)

3 fresh garlic cloves

1 cup matchstick carrots 1 cup pre-diced onions

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (undrained)



1. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Season chicken with salt and pepper on plate (may be paper); wash hands. Place 1 tablespoon of the oil in pan; swirl to coat.

2. Add chicken to pan (wash hands); cook 2–3 minutes on each side or until browned. While chicken cooks, chop parsley coarsely.

3. Add parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, and wine to chicken. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 6–8 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Use a meat thermometer to accurately ensure doneness.

4. Meanwhile, cut squash and zucchini in half lengthwise; then cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Trim ends of green beans and discard; cut beans into 2-inch-long lengths. Chop garlic coarsely.

5. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, along with garlic, to pan; cook 1 minute. Stir in remaining ingredients (except tomatoes); cook 5–7 minutes, stirring often, or until vegetables begin to soften.

6. Stir in tomatoes; cook 4–5 more minutes or until vegetables are desired tenderness.

7. Transfer vegetables to serving dish. Slice chicken, arrange over vegetables, and serve with pasta.



CALORIES (per 1/6 recipe) 230kcal; FAT 6g; CHOL 65mg; SODIUM 290mg; CARB 12g; FIBER 3g; PROTEIN 28g; VIT A 80%; VIT C 45%; CALC 6%; IRON 10%



Parmesan Pasta

Ingredients

12 ounces whole-grain penne pasta

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon herb garlic butter



1. Fill large saucepan half full of water. Cover and bring to boil on high for pasta.

2. Stir pasta into boiling water. Boil 11–14 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until tender.

3. Drain pasta; return to saucepan. Stir in cheese and butter until well blended. Serve.



CALORIES (per 1/6 recipe) 210kcal; FAT 2g; CHOL 0mg; SODIUM 60mg; CARB 39g; FIBER 4g; PROTEIN 11g; VIT A 0%; VIT C 0%; CALC 4%; IRON 10%



http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/AllRecipes/SimpleMeal.do?mealId=2369&mealGroupId=1000