The hubs wants some credit.

So after I showed hubby everything I blogged today, he pouted. Because he's been doing good in the kitchen as well. So here's a post of all the things he made this week -- they really were quite good.

First, for our annual family Christmas dinner, he made a batch of cream cheese and crab wontons. So good. And all by himself!! I believe it was a mixture of cream cheese and crab meat, then wrapped (super beautifully, I might add) in a thin won ton skin, then fried until golden brown. Make sure you lay these suckers on a paper towe to absorb the extra oil. So gooooood. And look at that craftsmanship!





Tonight he took charge of dinner. He made his super awesome chinese style broccoli -- I dunno how he does it but it always comes out crisp. He makes it kind of saucy with lots of garlic but a slightly sweet taste as well. So good. Tonight he paired it with Chinese sausage, white rice, and I fried up some gyoza. Yummy in my tummy!

Waffles!

No, this isn't dinner. I got up at 5:30 this morning (good LORD) for church with my family, so I had plenty of time once I was out of mass at 7:30. I stopped by Ralphs for a few things, then got started on making breakfast.

Hubs and I love breakfast. He was the one that introduced me to the concept of "breakfast for dinner." I think it's one of the reasons I fell in love with him. (ha) We love us some sausage, and eggs, and syrup... *drool*

This morning I busted out my totally cool Hello Kitty waffle maker. Heck yes. My sissy got it for me for Christmas some time ago, I believe.

Anyway, flour, baking powder, eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, butter, mix until smooth, and lay it on the hot waffle iron. Served with scrambled eggs, pork sausage links, and hash browns (darn it I forgot to slice up fruit) and you have....Sunday morning breakfast!!! (Can you tell I was excited about this? I was thinking about it all week!)





And one more close-up, just 'cause she's so cute:

Italian Breaded Chicken

This was a monumental dinner. It was the first time since we've been married that hubs actually "wow"ed. Definitely will make this again. :)

I used chicken breast. Mmm....boobs. Haha. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then rub all around with mustard. Coat with flour, then egg, then a mixture of bread crumbs, fresh parsley, parmesan cheese, and herbs. Cook in the pan for a few minutes (about 7) on each side. Yummy.

I served it with corn, rice, and yes, more of that never-ending baby bok choy. We're finally done with them.

Next time I want to serve it like an Italian dish -- on top of a warm bed of noodles and smothered in tomato sauce. Yum.

Lasagna

For Christmas Eve, hubby and I always save the date for H's bday. This year we skipped the restaurants and I attempted something new - lasagna.

It was the first time we really had anyone over to the house so I thought I'd have some fun. The night's menu:

- salad
- meat lasagna
- foccacia
- oven roasted herbed potatoes
- Costco cake for dessert

It was yummy. It took like, 3 hours though. Not a good meal for a quick cooking night. It went okay, but next time I think I'll add more salt or perhaps some mozzarella to the ricotta cheese -- I'd like it to be creamier. We definitely need to add more sauce, too. We like things saucy, yes we do.

It was fun to make -- the meat sauce was from scratch (I could totally use that for spaghetti, too), make the cheese mixture, then layer between lasagna noodles and bake.

Enough talk. On to the pictures!

Christmas Baking Extravaganza

I do this every year and even though it's a lot of work I love to do it. My cousin told me at Christmas dinner that she loves this time of year for my pumpkin bread. It made me *awwww*. This year I stuck to just my pumpkin spice bread and cinnamon star cookies. Both recipes are top top secret because if I tell you, what will I give you for Christmas this year? Here are some pictures though. ;P

Pasta with Shrimp, Tomato, and Basil

This dish was another experiment in the making.

After peeling the shrimp, I heated some olive oil with sliced garlic (3 cloves). Once the garlic started smelling good and was starting to turn golden in color, I added the shrimp. Two small pinches of garlic salt sprinkled on top.

Meanwhile, I boiled some thin spaghetti noodles in salt water, then rinsed.

Once the shrimp were almost done, I added the noodles and some more olive oil (enough to coat the noodles), along with one chopped tomato, pepper, and fresh basil (sooo yummy). I left the pasta to heat in the pan until the basil and tomato wilted slightly.

Yummy and doctor-approved! :) (Although you non-highblood pressure people might want to add some more salt.) I love how colorful it is. We ate it with a salad and clam chowder (no more carbs!)

Tostadas

We were going to have tostada Tuesday but we had to postpone it to Wednesday when we got home late from Christmas shopping Tuesday.

This dinner is super easy -- brown the meat, drain the grease, mix in some seasoning. We topped our tostada shells with refried beans, ground beef, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, sliced olives, and cheese.

Here's hubby demonstrating how to assemble said tostada:

Salmon Fillet

This was dinner er...two nights ago? Right after being diagnosed with high blood pressure at the doctor's office. Too sad! I am now on a low sodium diet until the doc figures out what meds she wants to put me on. This makes cooking very, very sad for me. No salt?!? Whaaaa?

My mom always makes salmon fillet with lots and lots of mayo. I know it sounds weird but when you bake it in the oven it gets this crispy brownish smooth and creamy top layer that is OH.SO.GOOD. After my news at the doctor's office I decided to tone down the mayo, so I just spread a thin layer over the fillet. I added some thyme and dill (instead of salt) to the fillet. If I hadn't been warned of my health issue I would've sprinkled some salt and pepper on the fillet before I put the mayo, but oh well.



The rice was easy, just fried a bit in the wok with some butter, a TINY bit of salt, and some pepper. Sort of a makeshift pilaf.

Veggies were a repeat of the baby bok choy (I dunno how else to cook it!) and leftover asparagus from hubby's mom that blows my cooking out of the water. I dunno how she can make nasty veggies taste so good. Oh and canned tomato soup (dude I just realized I don't really cook much.)



In the end I didn't really miss the salt, I guess. Lies! I totally missed it. I'm still thinking about how much better it would've been with salt. :(

Steak.

Tonight's dinner was an experiment all around.

The Menu:

- "steak"
- baked potato with broccoli and cheddar cheese
- baby bok choy


I do not like meat very much. So I've never really cooked meat. Today was a challenge. :) I sprinkled the meat (which I now realize is not really steak -- some shoulder something or other) with sea salt and pepper, rubbed it with garlic, and let it sit for about an hour.

The baby bok choy was also an experiment -- I just sauteed with garlic and some sesame oil, and a small sprinkle of table salt.

The potatoes I baked in the oven at 350 after coating in canola oil and sea salt. Broccoli was boiled, and I sprinkled sharp cheddar cheese over the potato.



Notes to self:

- steak: way.too.much.salt. get a better cut of meat next time. don't cook so long and leave some pink! :)

- baby bok choy: *yay*!! maybe try with some sauce next time

- baked potato: slightly undercooked, start earlier next time. sharp cheddar doesn't work as well as nasty velveeta.

Christmas Ornaments

I realize this is not a cooking recipe, but it involved the oven, and it's a "wifely" duty so it's going to be posted. :)

Hubby and I had a bare tree and I didn't want to pay full price for ornaments knowing they'd go on sale right after Christmas, so this year I elected to make our ornaments.

Enter the kindergarten teacher -- salt dough.

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup warm water


Simple, right? Mix the water and salt, and add the water slowly. It should be a good, thick consistency, not too sticky. Roll out the dough, cut as desired, then bake at low heat.



I tried it a few nights ago and mixed in nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves for a brownish color and spicy smell. But I think I baked it too high (or our oven here is stupid). It turned everything a strange white color and made it look strange. So, I tossed them out and re-did it, this time without the spices and baking at 225. It was still strange but not as bad. Now we just have to decorate and hang on the tree. :)

New blog!

New husband, new home, new life = new blog! :)