Mr & Mrs Peters

This year I was in the mood to do a lot of holiday baking. I decided to make treats for our neighbors and hand them out with Christmas cards. This is the first year we have done it, and I think I will continue with this tradition in the future. I made the mistake of having Radar go with me to deliver the first set of popcorn, and the poor elderly lady who lives across from us looked a bit overwhelmed when he tried to bust down her door!

For our neighbors, I made Maple Brown Sugar Popcorn. It was delicious! I purchased super cute 1/2 gallon Christmas tins to put the popcorn in. Here is the recipe:

Prudy’s Maple Brown Sugar Popcorn

For Christmas Eve I made holiday bark to share with everyone. It was fun to make and because it is so rich- a little goes a long way.

Here are the two recipes I used for inspiration with the chocolate bark… I sort of mixed what I liked about the two. I ended up doing two kinds of bark: Double Chocolate Peppermint and Double Chocolate Pretzel with holiday sprinkles.

Noble Pig’s Double Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Maria’s Holiday Bark

A few thoughts for the day, and then I will share my dinner recipe from last night.

1. Are you wearing green? I sure am! My S-I-L Amy bought me the cutest green sweater for my birthday and I am sporting it today.

2. Today is my cousin Katie’s 21st birthday! Happy Birthday Sweetie!!

3. Do you have a guilty indulgence? I have a soft spot for red Swedish Fish and vanilla cones from McDonald’s. I got thinking about snacks this morning because Miranda at www.aduckinherpond.com wrote a poem on her love of vanilla cones. (Side note- How am I the only person left in the world that doesn’t know to do that fancy linking thing where you can show a link without writing it out?) HELP!

Without further ado, here is our dinner from last night. This is another All Recipes find that I changed to fit our tastes.

Beer Battered Fish Tacos, serves 6-8

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup beer (I used Coor’s Light. It’s all we keep on hand)

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used low-fat)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used the nonfat variety)
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (If you like spicy food you can increase this amount)

Oil for frying
1.5 lbs cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions
White Corn Tortillas
1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded

Beer Batter- Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Add in egg and beer, quickly stir. Don’t worry about getting all the lumps out- you don’t want to stir this too much.

White Sauce- In a medium bowl mix together yogurt, mayo, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne, and lime juice. Stick in fridge until ready to serve.

Heat oil in deep frying dish.

Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

You can fry your tortillas if desried. I threw mine in the oven covered in some foil while I prepared the meal.

To serve, place fried fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, and white sauce. I served dinner with a side of black beans as well as chips and salsa.

Every Friday night we meet with our Homebuilder’s Group. Every other week we do a potluck and this was my week to do the main entree. I was having a hard time thinking of something that would be relatively easy to put together after work on Friday that would serve 16 people. I was originally going to do a casserole, but decided on this soup instead. I sure am glad I changed my mind! Everyone loved it. I didn’t even have a sip or two to bring home to poor Justin (who had to work). I found the original recipe on All Recipes, which is my go-to site for dinner ideas. I made a fair amount of changes, due to the fact that among other things, I refuse to cook vegetables in 2 cups of butter… Here is the recipe I came up with.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, serves 16

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 pound fresh sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 cups chicken broth
4 cups cooked wild rice (I used two bags of Uncle Ben’s wild rice microwavable stuff. That was all the grocery had)
2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup beer (I used Coor’s Light)
3 cups 2% milk

Instructions:
Saute the veggies in the butter.
Add in the flour and chicken broth, bring to a boil.
Add in all the other ingredients, bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer.
Let simmer for approximately an hour. (But keep an eye on the pot and stir somewhat frequently)

Remember my resolution to try new recipes?

Well, I have had a hit, and a pretty dismal miss.

Monday night I tried out a recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers. I really was hoping it would turn out great- especially because they were somewhat prep-heavy. I wasn’t pleased with the end result- Justin and I both agreed that they were rather bland. Although I was disappointed I promised myself I would try stuffed peppers again in the future, with a new recipe.

Last night I made homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs. It was yummy!

Here is what I did:

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
1 pound ground round
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped dried parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used freshly grated cheese)
1 (16 ounce) package uncooked spaghetti

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion until lightly brown. Mix in 2 cloves garlic, and cook 1 minute. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, and 1/2 the oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer while preparing meatballs.

In a bowl, mix the ground round, bread crumbs, remaining oregano, remaining garlic, parsley, eggs, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Roll into 1 inch balls, and drop into the sauce. Cook 40 minutes in the sauce, or until internal temperature of meatballs reaches a minimum of 160 degrees F (72 degrees C).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and stir in the spaghetti. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Serve the meatballs and sauce over the cooked spaghetti.

The sauce was very delicious! I ended up cooking the meatballs an extra 15 minutes or so and I think they would have a been more tender if I had stopped at 40 minutes.

Looking for a low-key but still yummy dinner? Look no further, my friends.

I bring to you: Lemon Curry Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

In a bowl, stir together paprika, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle seasoning over chicken pieces. Dip pieces in egg, then dredge in bread crumbs. Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer in an aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, turning once.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together sugar, lemon juice, and curry powder, stirring until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Drizzle lemon sauce over chicken, return to oven, and bake 5 minutes more.

We had this Monday night for dinner and it was super yummy!