Aaaaand she's back!

Phew! It's been a busy few weeks. For the past three weekends I--went to a wedding with Shane, gave a lecture at the Texas Academy of Family Physicians conference in Houston, and gave the same lecture in Dallas. During the weekdays, I worked and did Pilates two days a week. It's been busy, but good busy!

Needless to say, I had to take a break from the Abby/Betty project. But I'm back! First thing today when I got home from Dallas I sat down and picked out some recipes, went to the grocery store, and came home and made two things. Also, I couldn't resist the red polka-dotted pie dish at H-E-B. I'll use it to make my pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving :).

Today for dinner we had Turkey Caesar Wraps. I bought a Caesar salad kit from H-E-B, two roma tomatoes, and a rotisserie turkey breast, and we wrapped it all up in tortillas from H-E-B (the kind you buy raw, so they are delicious once cooked up). This was yummy, and totally realistic for a quick dinner after work for Shane and me.

I also made (and just tasted today, we didn't eat it yet) Lemon-Basil Pasta Salad with Turkey. The recipe consisted of boiling spiral pasta, adding asparagus with about 3 minutes to go, draining that, then adding parmesan cheese, lemon zest, olive oil, garlic powder, and turkey. I tasted it, and it's yum! It will be better tomorrow when it's all cold and all the flavors have mixed together. Good lunch for work :).

Coming up this week: tuna salad. I've made tuna salad before, but I've been meaning to make it for a while (we both like it) and it's in my Betty book! Well, I'm super glad to be done with my two lectures, and I hear they went well. No matter how I do, I always think my own lectures are bad. Okay, gotta go watch Brothers and Sisters now! Happy to get back to Abby/Betty :).

Abby/Betty Project Status: 43 down, 69 to go!

There are 112 recipes total, and I’ve made 43, so I have 69 recipes to go. My goal is to finish this project by our wedding day, May 21, 2011. That gives me approximately 7 more months, which is still about 10 recipes per month!

Here is a list of what I’ve cooked since my last update on August 28:

29. Scrambled Eggs (I have made an executive decision to just include this, because it’s one of the few things I knew how to make before I started the project. My latest creation with it was a sweet breakfast taco. I love jelly on my eggs, so I made a breakfast taco with scrambled eggs, mozzarella, and raspberry preserves wrapped in a tortilla. Yum!)

30. Hard-Boiled Eggs (Same executive decision. I actually make these all the time. The perfect recipe, never fails: put eggs on the stove in cold water, bring to a boil, boil for 11 minutes, immediately put the eggs in ice water. A good use of the last few eggs before they go bad! Just eat ‘em straight up. Also a good way to kill all the Salmonella.)

31. Greek Salad (Yum! We need to eat more veggies, and this will help!)

32. Caesar Salad (This is another one that Shane said to count among his favorites. I agree! Rubbing garlic on the sides of the salad bowl is a great trick to get a garlic taste that’s not overpowering.)

33. Veggie Lasagna (Nothing special. Healthy, edible, and pretty easy. Next time, no mushrooms!)

34. Quesadillas (Quick, easy, and tasty.)

35. Chipotle-Black Bean Burritos (Turned out really well, but Chipotle peppers are wicked hot! Definitely need to cut them up really small and only put a little bit.)

36. Chili (Yum!)

37. Tortilla Soup (Soooo easy, pretty healthy, and delicious. A good after-work throw it together dinner.)

38. Eggs Over Hard (Yummy, but I want to learn Eggs Sunny Side Up because they’re prettier!)

39. Veggie Chili (This was good, made a ton, and made for good leftovers through the week.)

40. Banana Bread (Yum! Just next time move the rack to the middle of the oven.)

41. Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara (Delicious, and also made good leftovers. Good for after work or at work!)

42. French Onion Puke (Never. Again.)

43. Linguini Alfredo (Delicious, and I could make Strawberry Shortcakes or Chocolate Mousse with the leftover whipping cream :)

French Onion Puke. And some pretty good Linguini Alfredo.

It's almost too soon to talk about the French Onion Soup. I ruined it in many ways. First, I chopped an onion (which always makes me cry to the point that I can't even keep me eyes open, and spreads whatever godawful eye-irritant is in onions throughout our whole small apartment). Then, I proceeded to burn most of it onto the bottom of my Dutch oven, which created an unbearable, nauseating smell in the apartment that I can only imagine is what gorilla puke would smell like when boiled on the stove. For some reason, Betty decided to tell me to caramelize onions by first cooking them on high for five minutes. I won't turn on you now, Betty. I'm sure this disaster was due to my error. But let's just say next time I won't be doing it that way. While those were cooking, I "toasted" some bread under the broiler. Our last four pieces of French bread. I took them out of the oven blackened and had to scrape off the burnt parts into the sink. After transitioning the onion mixture into another pot in an attempt to get rid of the burnt nastiness, I added beef broth and a bay leaf to the mixture. I heated that up to a boil, then poured it over the toasted bread into my oven-proof Fiestaware (thanks for the hand-me-downs, Mom and Dad!). On top of that I added mozzarella and parmesan cheese, then put them under the broiler again, this time watching very closely and for a very short time.

Now, having worked very closely with the gorilla puke smell for almost an hour now, I was nauseated and could only handle one bite of the soup. Shane told me it was good, and that it was better than some he'd had at Jason's Deli. He even ate the leftovers today. But for some mysterious reason, he just doesn't like it enough for me to make it again. Who knows if that's because he didn't like it, or because he'd rather not have anger cooked into his food, but I will gladly oblige.

Okay. French Onion Puke, check, move on. Yesterday, I actually made something really good! H-E-B whole wheat linguini with homemade alfredo sauce. I melted butter in heavy whipping cream in a sauce pan, stirring constantly. Then I turned down the heat and added parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, and stirred until the parmesan cheese was melted and the sauce was smooth. Shane ate half the pot, and now counts this among his favorites, although it hasn't entered his top three, which are meatloaf, strawberry shortcake, and lasagna. I loved the linguini alfredo, and ate the leftovers for lunch at work today. It didn't re-warm too well. The butter separated from the sauce when I warmed it up again. It still tasted fine, but didn't look too pretty. Maybe that's just how alfredo sauce rolls.

All in all, I am happy with my recent Abby/Betty efforts. I will be on hiatus this weekend, as we are attending Katherine (grad school buddy) and Michael's wedding. I find myself looking forward to the break! But still, I love cooking more than I ever thought I would. Guess it's genetic (from Mom's side, NOT Dad's!). I'm also glad that my future children will have something other than Kraft Mac'n'Cheese and PBJs to eat :)

Banana Bread and Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara

Yum yum. I'm going to start with the successful recipes for this weekend. First, I made banana bread. I started with over-ripe bananas collected over weeks (it's hard to strike a balance between Shane eating them all before they get ripe and us forgetting about them until they're brown and mushy). I kept them in the freezer (see picture) which made them turn gross and brown. Even the cookbook warned "they won't look too good but they'll work just fine." They weren't kidding! I thawed them out in the refrigerator, then took them out and squished the banana contents into a bowl. I added walnuts and cranberries to the recipe, and I wish I had a picture to show how pretty that made the slices. I'll have to get those when we cut up the second loaf that's in the freezer now. The banana bread turned out delicious other than one issue: the recipe said to put the oven rack in the bottom position to bake the bread, which made it all burnt on the bottom and raw on the top. Somehow, it still tasted delicious! Next time I'll put it in the middle and I think it will turn out just right.

Next, I made spaghetti with homemade marinara. I sauteed onions and a green bell pepper in olive oil with some garlic powder, then added diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and simmered all that for about an hour. I added oregano, salt, and pepper to the sauce. Along with some H-E-B whole wheat spaghetti, this made for a DELICIOUS and healthy few meals! I was quite happy with myself. Then my next post happened. See above :)

Tortilla Soup, Eggs Over Hard, Veggie Chili, and Cornbread Muffins

This has been an eventful week in the Abby/Betty project. The more I cook, the more I want to cook! And the more I cook, the easier it is to decide to cook and whip something up.

My first meal for this week went--gasp!--undocumented! I made tortilla soup Saturday night when Shane got home from work. The recipe was really simple: 1 carton of chicken broth, half a jar of salsa (I used H-E-B peach salsa), and 2 cups of cooked chicken (for which I used an H-E-B rotisserie chicken). You bring all that to a boil, then pour it in a bowl over broken tortilla chips. On top, you add avocado pieces, monterrey jack cheese, and cilantro. Making this meal came so naturally, I forgot to take a picture! It's a shame, because with all of the toppings it really came out beautifully. With such a simple recipe, I'm sure I'll make it again and have a chance to photograph it :).

The next thing I made was for myself on Sunday morning. I wanted a big breakfast, so I decided to try to make eggs sunny side up. The cookbook said to heat butter on a hot skillet, carefully break the eggs into the skillet, then turn it down so the eggs just gently sizzle. I did this, and even after the whites were done the yolks were runny. Runny eggs are not my thing, so I ended up flipping the eggs over and kind of making eggs over hard. I had them with some H-E-B buttermilk waffles with raspberry jelly. This made for a delicious Sunday morning breakfast!

Last night I came home before Zumba class and had about an hour to spare. I really wanted to make the veggie chili before the veggies went bad, so I whipped it up. I had a minor mishap when making the chili in that it said to "bring the ingredients to a boil," but the ingredients up to that point were essentially just a pile of vegetables. There were potatoes, an onion, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and a cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. I had to call mom for stat cooking advice. She told me I should add some chicken or vegetable stock, but I didn't have any, so I added a cup of water. She thought that might make the chili bland, but it turned out sooo good! The other ingredients were zucchini (which I put in later), cumin, and chili powder. Shane liked it to. Zumba class sucked. Tall girls were not meant to dance! I think I'm more into Pilates/Yoga... stretching, breathing slow, and working on my posture.

Today I made cornbread muffins to redeem myself for the grody cornbread I made last weekend. Mom said I stirred the cornbread too much, or possibly put too much flour because I packed it in the measuring cup. I made the cornbread again today, stirring the dry and wet ingredients separately then just giving them a quick whip together. Two things: buttermilk is a vile substance and my cornbread muffins are freaking delicious!!

Chili, Cornbread, and Bundt Brownies

Sunday night after Ryan left I was feeling bummed out. I guess it's always a downer when a houseguest leaves. I felt that maybe cooking in my pretty new Vera Bradley apron April got me for my birthday would cheer me up, so along with my planned chili and cornbread, I made some Bundt brownies in my new Bundt pan. I couldn't resist buying it last week at Target, so this week I decided to make the recipe that came with the pan: cheesecake brownies.

First things first though, the chili. I browned ground beef with a chopped onion and a sprinkle of garlic powder in a pot. After draining off the juice, I added a can of diced tomatoes with the liquid, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and red pepper sauce. I knew it must be right because with the spices it started to smell like my mom's chili. I cooked all of that for one hour covered (which was too long because it burned on to the pan) and then added kidney beans and cooked it for another 30 minutes uncovered. The chili turned out delicious! I put waaay less chili powder than it called for, so it wasn't too spicy, which is the way we like it.

For the cornbread, I used a vintage Youens recipe which I am not sure I am authorized to share online. Other than the fact that it got a little crispy because I cooked it too long, it tasted great! Next time I'll try 15 minutes to start and check it until it's done. The cornbread is sweet (it has two tablespoons of sugar) and I like to eat it with jelly. Shane likes to put it in his chili. My dad has been known to drown it in about a gallon of "squirt butter" and honey.

Finally, the Bundt cheesecake brownies. This was a from-scratch brownie recipe, even starting out with melting unsweetened baker's chocolate and butter. I have the best thing for that: my silicone measuring cups. As advised by Chef Linda, I use them to melt butter and chocolate in the microwave and it all comes out easily with a silicone spatula and washes easily. I am sure this is far less messy than heating up chocolate and butter in a saucepan, as the recipe called for. Along with the brownie mix, I mixed up some cream cheese, powdered sugar, and egg for the cream cheese part. Into the mini Bundt pans went a dollop of brownie mix and a dollop of cream cheese mix. The brownies turned out great, and even came out of the pan, but I learned yet another trick from Chef Linda: when you are flouring a pan to make something chocolate, use cocoa powder instead of flour to avoid the white residue. Ideally, Chef Linda recommends the Pam spray or Baker's Joy that already has flour in it.

All around this was a successful meal! I am considering declaring October "soup month" and going through the soup recipes in my book like tortilla soup, veggie chili, and black bean soup. We are having as close as Houston may come this year to "soup weather" and I don't want it to pass by without finishing the soup recipes! Okay, now back to watching vintage ER. I am on Season 1, which I used to listen to from my bedroom when I was 9 years old and it came on past my bedtime. It's really quite good!

Oh, and C-boo's 10 months and can pull up on her own now :).

Ryan-Abby-Shane Team Effort Burritos!

I had a little help with my Abby/Betty recipe today: Shane and his brother Ryan. Ryan is in town visiting for the weekend and he's also learning how to cook now. We made Chipotle Black Bean Burritos and actually ate them at our dining room table!

Ryan mashed the beans, Shane cooked the tortillas, and I chopped the onion, tomato, and chipotle peppers. I used garlic powder instead of chopping up garlic. I just put less garlic powder than the recipe called for (1/2 tsp instead of 3/4 tsp) because it's GROSS if you put too much. We cooked up the onions and garlic powder in vegetable oil, then added the tomatoes, beans, and two tsp of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The chipotle peppers were supposed to be "finely chopped," which I kind of ignored and just cut them into smallish pieces. That was our only complaint about the meal: about three bites were delicious, then the next bite had a pepper and was really hot! I would definitely make this again, with the following changes: bigger burrito-sized tortillas instead of the little ones we had, and chopping up the chipotle peppers into tiny pieces. I also might make a double recipe, because the burrito insides could be saved to make more burritos the next day. Otherwise this was yummy, topped off with some mozzarella cheese, sour cream, and H-E-B peach salsa.

Now Shane and Ryan are playing some Red Steel on the Wii (some kind of game where you shoot people and things), and when I'm done blogging we're going to play some Rock Band. Also, we opened the window and turned on the fan because we were cooking the onions, which caused Frankie and Animal to gather by the screen door and be really sweet. :D

Oh and P.S., the cupcakes were delicious, and were a big hit at work!