Cook. Craft. Enjoy.

Takeout No More

One of Liam's favorite foods is orange chicken from Panda Express.  Alas, the closest Panda Express to us is 93 miles away in Plainsfield, NJ.  Not something I'm going to drive to just for their chicken.  Granted, I don't mind their food, but if I'm going to drive that far for something to eat, it'll at least be something fresh and not something sitting around in warming trays.

Closer to home is a local Chinese restaurant, Peach & Lily.  Everything we've ordered from there has been good - though they don't have orange chicken - they have General Tso's.  I did a quick web search this morning and there's really not much difference between orange chicken and General Tso's ... except that orange chicken should have a more pronounced "orange" flavor while General Tso's should be a little more "spice" flavor to it.  Either way, while it's not good for you, it is delicious.

Once in a while I make allowances to make something for dinner that's so far off the "healthy" range it almost makes me cringe to make it.  I try hard not to make something like that more than once every few weeks and that's a good thing because this recipe, while unhealthy, was probably the best orange chicken we've had.  It's been requested again "soon" and that will probably be a in a week or so (I made it about 2 weeks ago).

I did serve it with some stir fry veggies as well, does that count for something?  No?  I didn't think so ...

Bananas ...

Bananas seem to be the bane of my existence sometimes.  They're innocent enough, but give them a few days and they turn on you - brown and inedible (at least in this house).  I'm always trying to find something else to do with them so this week they ended up as banana scones.

Thank You, Veterans

PPN: Pierogie Casserole

In case you haven't heard, Presto Pasta Nights is a wonderful food blog event started by Ruth over at Once Upon A Feast and has been going strong ever since its creation.  This week it's hosted by Tandy over at Lavender and Lime and I couldn't be happier to participate.

There are so many good pasta recipes out there that it's always a challenge to come up with something tasty yet a little on the different side.  This week I think I found it:  Pierogie Casserole.

Before moving to Pennsylvania I'd had pierogies before.  Those little clouds of dough with potato and onion wrapped inside.  But upon moving here I never knew just how many different types there were  (or that there were brands other than Mrs. T you could buy at the grocery store!).  I think the best I've had, however, were homemade from a church sale in Scranton (St. Michael's Ukrainian Orthodox in case you're wondering).  Next time they have their sale I'll be sure to get some photos for you all.

Wordless Wednesday

Simple yet Delicious

The weather here in NE Pennsylvania has been crazy.  A week and a half ago we got over a foot of snow and now it's in the 60s during the day.  I think Mother Nature is trying to trick us into thinking it's going to be a decent winter - I'm not buying it.  Truth be told, I love the cold weather and the snow - but I will take this opportunity we're given and do some grilling before the snow overtakes us all.

We all know that different parts of the country have different food items that are unique to it.  I grew up and spent the majority of my life on the west coast so I'm still getting used to some of the things I can't find here or are outrageously expensive.  Honestly, while most of those are Mexican ingredients (cilantro for $1.99 a bunch anyone?), there are also differences in cuts of meat.  While I'm no expert - I'm not a big fan of beef - I could happily live the rest of my life without it or any meat for that matter - one of the cuts I like to grill is flank steak.  I know that it's a tougher cut of meat and that it's best marinated.   But, seriously, $10 a pound?  And so hard to find most of the time none of the grocery stores carry it.  I happened to find it this week for $7 a pound (still, um, unhappy about that, but what food isn't expensive now?), and picked up a small steak to grill knowing that the one steak would feed us all.

McCormick Recipe Inspirations Asian Sesame Salmon

Honestly, as most cooks, I have way too many spices.  I enjoy having different ingredients to choose from - and I am definitely not one that shys away from flavor.  That's why I was a little surprised when I picked up a package of McCormick Recipe Inspirations.  If you've been by the spice aisle in the grocery store I'm sure you've seen them.  Packaged on a "card" they have 6 spices and give you simple directions on the back on how to use them.

The one I picked up was for Asian Sesame Salmon and had sesame seeds, garlic powder, onion powder, ginger and red pepper flakes.  The directions on the back wanted you to bake the salmon but I opted for a different approach:  grilling

So Easy Why Didn't I Always Do This?

We eat quite a few Mexican inspired meals around here and one of our standbys is "tacos".  Yes, your typical American meal of refried beans, ground seasoned meat, corn and/or flour tortillas as well as a host of toppings.  Up until a few weeks ago I would buy the refried beans in the can - but no more.

PPN: Angel Hair Pasta with Clams

Remember Presto Pasta Nights?  The wonderful blogging event that was started by Ruth over at Once Upon A Feast back in March of '07?  Well, thankfully it's still going strong (on #237!).  Ruth, I'm glad to see the event you created has lasted - and that I can once again become a part of it.

My first post of PPN was Pad Thai, and I remember it fondly.  I contributed weekly up until life, health, and a host of other issues got in my way - but I can feel my passion for cooking and blogging back and it's a good feeling - one that I plan on keeping for as long as I can.

This week my submission is Angel Hair Pasta with Clams:

This was a dish I am almost embarrassed to say I made last January and meant to blog but didn't.  It was something out of the ordinary for us - sometimes I'm hesitant to try things figuring that the kids won't like it - but something that was a hit.  Believe it or not Liam LOVED the clams (he, who used to be the world's pickiest eater!) and even Adrienne had good things to say about it.

What a Week

I'm trying, really I am, to become blogworthy again.  Things this week have been a tad crazy but I think I'm up to the task of posting today.  My goal for November is to post at least every other day ... so let's see if I can get more than 15 posts out of this month.  First, let me share with you what happened on Saturday ...

Yep ... we got about a foot of snow.  I love this photo.  Every hour or so the kids and I would wander over to the sliding glass door and check to see how much more snow we were getting.  Crazy, crazy to have that much in October.  I'm thinking we're looking at a long, cold winter.