Chicken and Trees Casserole

On a healthy eating kick right now. It should pass. In the meantime here is a recipe I got out of Cooking Light. It's actually tasty for low-fat eating.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

3 qts water
1(12 oz) pkg broccoli florets
4 (6 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts
1(12oz) can fat free evaporated milk
1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
dash of nutmeg
1 c. fat-free mayo
1/2 c. fat-free sour cream
1/4 c. dry sherry
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can condensed reduced fat cream of mushroom soup,undiluted
1 c. grated Parmesan divided.
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 and spray 13x9 pan.

Bring water to boil. Add broccoli, cook 3 minutes and then transfer with slotted spoon to a large bowl. Add chicken,reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board and cool. Cut into bite-sized pieces and add to bowl with broccoli.

Combine evaporated milk, , flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a saucepan. whisk over medium heat till smooth and thickened, about a minute. Remove from heat and add mayo and rest of ingredients through soup and 1/2 c. cheese. Spoon into baking dish and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake at 400 for 50 minutes or until mixture bubbles and cheese browns(hopefully all that happens at once). Remove and cool for 5 minutes.

I'm just a stress machine----

Sing to the tune of "I'm just a Love Machine".

Snark says I thrive on crisis. If there isn't one around I might just decide that life isn't worth living. I would give him the ol' ST, but he's speaking the truth. I can stress for hours if someone gives me a funny look at the store.

I ran into a girl that I see once a month at Bunko. I was distracted and for the life of me could not recall her name. But as dumb luck would have it she knew mine. In fact all those Bunko chicks know me and when I run into them at the store I hide, because I can't remember their names. Which leads me to one of two reasons for this 1. I shouldn't drink at Bunko or 2. I 'm just not that invested in this group. I like to think the latter rather than the former. I digress. I called my friend(whose name I do remember) and freaked out that this gal thought I was a looneytune.

That was last month. This month we have the FCAT. Every state has it. It just goes by a different name. It's the standardized test they make you take in 3rd grade to see if you're smart enough for 4th. What a joke! I took an old test. I can tell you right now I probably flunked. The questions are phrased awkwardly and they have material on it that most kids have not covered yet. I can see why teachers are in an uproar about it. I read that you can be a straight A student, yet if you don't pass this test you repeat the grade. There is no room for error.

I am preparing myself for the grade. My eldest was cringing going into the test. The only problem I have is she does well in school but the state doesn't care about her GPA.

So that is the stress for April into May because surprise, surprise we don't know if we passed until the week before summer holidays.

"Have a great summer, by the way you've won a trip to repeat third grade."

The horror!

Salt and Pepper Shrimp David

My cousin David is a fantastic cook! When he comes to visit, he's in the kitchen. This dish was a great appetizer to the coconut fish curry he makes.

1 lb large raw shrimp peeled.
oil for frying
2 eggs beaten
2 cups cornstarch
1 cup club soda

salt and pepper

Heat oil and in a bowl mix cornstarch and soda. Batter should be thick. Dip shrimp in batter and fry in oil till golden. When all shrimp have been fried season with salt and pepper generously. Serve with the sauce below on the side.

Garlic Sauce
1 cup ketchup
a few dashes soy sauce
1 head garlic finely chopped
1 serrano chili finely chopped(optional)

Mix all ingredients and heat slowly till warm.

A few observations

Just a few things that pass through my warped mind at times.

Why do people who wax your eyebrows have the foulest breath. They don't seem to realize it and keep blowing in your face?

I'm all about loving your body, but why do women with huge guts feel the need to wear shirts that ride up over said gut?

Why do kids scream the loudest when you're on the phone?

When you really need a call back you never get one but when you don't want to be bothered the phone rings off the hook.

I love childless people who know they can do it better.

You always run into someone at the store when you have no make-up on and you are dragging your screaming child away from the chocolate.

When you have plans for the weekend why do all the invites pour in for the day you don't have free.

Why is it all you ever talk about with your girlfriends is having a night out and when you decide to do it nobody feels like going out?

Why didn't anyone tell me that I was going to be attending grade school with my kids. If I had known that I wouldn't have done it the first time.

Why do you always get your period the day something good is happening.

Why do women always size up other women's diamonds when they first meet.

Why do men get along better with their friends than women do?

Why does your child ask why a person is a certain color when the person of a certain color is standing beside you in line?

Why are people so curious about you yet so closemouthed about themselves?

Why do I feel guilty just buying the foundation when that is all I need!! I come home with lipstick that looks like crap and eyeliner that I use once a year.

I always think that when I'm getting my brows waxed I'm going to look in the mirror and see one that she waxed completely off.

Anyone that tells you they don't care what other people think is lying.

It's a little sick that Disneyworld makes me very happy.

Why doesn't J.K. Rowling put me out of my misery and just tell me the end of "Harry Potter".

Blog back

I think everything is back to normal!! I can view my blog today.

Blog gone

Blogger is messing with my mind!! They shut down and now I can't view my blog. Of course, they don't return e-mails at all. I can post to my hearts content but nobody can view it. Must be in hell. Stay tuned

Thai one on

A friend of a friend wrote a Thai food cookbook . This is one of the many recipes I use from it. It's easy to make. This recipe can be interpreted any way. Please feel free to change the quantities to your taste.

Ground Meat Salad

1 lb ground meat(I use ground pork or turkey)
Juice of 1-2 limes
1 TB fish sauce
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 TB chili flakes
1/4 c. fresh mint chopped
1/4 c. cilantro chopped
1 green onion sliced


Fry meat in pan till fully cooked. Do not drain unless there is a lot of fat.
Take off heat and add all other ingredients. Check for saltiness and adjust seasonings. Serve with rice.

recipe from Savor the Sensation

Cursing a blue streak

I am a heathen. Every Lent I tried to give something up. Some years were very tough, others I was pretty successful. This year I decided to give up cursing. Now, some of you may laugh but when I say cursing I am talking even mild epithets. Snark says that even means writing naughty words.

I just can't do it! It slips past my lips. I love the word d&^n. There is no other word that can be substituted for it. Shoot, Crud and Fudge just don't have the same power as one single D&*^n!

I am trying everyday but it's like that diet you promise to start the next day. I keep telling myself I will have self control tomorrow.

The Best Brownies (if you like nuts)

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Line with waxed paper, extending over 2 sides of pan. Spray paper. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool to lukewarm.

Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups sugar, eggs and vanilla in medium bowl until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add chocolate mixture; beat just until blended. Add flour and next 3 ingredients; beat just until blended. Stir in sour cream and nuts.

Transfer batter to pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Transfer pan to rack; cool completely. Cut into squares. Top with powdered sugar.

Makes about 24 brownies.
Bon Appétit

Post Oscar

So yesterday was the first time in years that I have been alone watching the Oscars. Every year I throw an Oscar party. No ball-gowns just good food served with a side of sarcasm.

I persuaded Snark to pretend he wanted to watch it. He sat next to me until Clooney won and then left.

"If I wanted to see self-congratulatory blow-hards, I'd look in the mirror." was his parting shot as he escaped into the dungeon (his office).

Really, all I wanted to see was the dresses and hear who messed up on speeches. So I compiled a few highlights of the night.

Best dressed--I put Nicole Kidman down. She looked great. Normally I would have chosen Charlize Theron but it looked like she put a pillow on her shoulder. When the show was over I thought she was smart because she probably took a nap through some of those speeches.

Keira Knightley had a great dress color and a beautiful dress until you saw the poof at the end. Not into that. Also the bow in the back of her hair was stolen from my 8th grade Sadie Hawkins dress.

Did Naomi Watts get in a tussle with a tiger before she came?

When a song that has the line" it's hard out here for a pimp" wins we have a major breakdown in society. That said, it was a pretty catchy tune.

I hope nobody told Reese Witherspoon that the dress was vintage.

Now that I'm thinking about it, what is up with the trend of pairing pale with pale. Are you supposed to look ethereal if you are lily-white and your dress blends with your skin?

George Clooney is good-looking but really needed to take the Oscar and say thank-you. Nobody wanted to be reminded of Batman. Why didn't he bring up "Facts of Life" also?

Who knew Robert Altman had a heart!

I don't think Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams cared where they were, as long as they could keep staring at each other. I thought it was cute.

I love Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I have always thought he was a great actor. Anyone who watched Boogie Nights, Talented Mr. Ripley and that little known film State and Main knows this also.

Jack Nicholson's girlfriends always get younger! That was a joke because the girl was his daughter. Who knew he could spawn such a good-looking child.

Did Sandra Bullock have candy in her pockets?

Wallace and Grommit creators should have been handed a hunk of Wensleydale.

Jennifer Lopez is still married!!

Matt Dillon just gets better looking every time I see him.

Uma Thurman forgot to comb her hair.

Was something wrong with Lauren Bacall? Either she was drugged or drunk.

Helena Bonham Carter is the perfect corpse bride for Tim Burton. They both looked frightful.

Is it mean to mention that if Jennifer Garner had fallen that would have been the funniest moment of the whole show?

It was a very uneventful night. One thing I did realize was, watching it with a group is always more fun than cackling at your own thoughts during the show.

Just cane envy!

Snark has a problem. He's been on a power trip. A few posts ago I mentioned how he threw his back out and I went to buy him a cane. So he was balking at the notion, even more so when he knew I was going to drive him to "Mobility Freedom".

I bought this cane and made him test it out. He grumbled a little, but he knew it was for the best. We got the hood version, because there is no need for style unless he was going to hang out with P.Diddy and Bentley Farnsworth.

It helped but it developed a life of it's own. The cane would mysteriously poke me in the butt when I was ignoring it's master. The kids, when they were bad, got poked in the heel for emphasis. The end came when "THE CANE" pointed out differences in digital cameras at Costco. A man, who actually needed a cane, was standing by and looked a little taken back when an apparently healthy Snark used "the cane" as a pointer.

He went through withdrawal. After all, I amputated his limb. But I think he has gotten used to only having two hands.

Sangria

I had this recipe in my folder for years and have only made it three times. Everytime I make it I wonder why I don't make it more often.

2 large juice oranges , washed; one orange sliced; remaining orange juiced 1 large lemon , washed and sliced 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup Triple Sec 1 bottle inexpensive, fruity, medium-bodied red wine (750 milliliters), chilled

1. Add sliced orange, lemon, and sugar to large pitcher; mash gently with wooden spoon until fruit releases some juice, but is not totally crushed, and sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Stir in orange juice, Triple Sec, and wine; refrigerate for at least 2, and up to 8, hours. 2. Before serving, add 6 to 8 ice cubes and stir briskly to distribute settled fruit and pulp serve immediately. Recipe courtesy of Cooks Illustrated