Men's Dip

Whenever I bring this layered Mexican-style dip to a party, I inevitably find a group of men hovering around it. I'll admit that I eat my fair share of it as well. I like to serve it with Fritos (the "scoop" kind). The picture above is a version without sour cream, 'cause hubby doesn't like it. He does love this dip, though, and has been known to eat it as a meal.

To make it, you'll need an 9x2-inch round or 8x2-inch square dish. The first layer is a can of Fritos bean dip. Spread this evenly over the bottom of the dish. Next, spread about 3/4 cup of a smooth guacamole, followed by 1/2 cup sour cream. Drain a can of Rotel tomatoes and chiles and spread these over the sour cream. A small can of chopped olives is the next layer. Finely grate enough colby-jack cheese to cover the top of the dip. (Some people also like to sprinkle sliced scallions on top.)

Dig in with your Fritos Scoops and enjoy!

Star Washcloth

I was browsing around on Ravelry and I came across this sweet star-shaped washcloth. I had all of the supplies on hand and knew I had to make one right away. If you want to make one too, you can find the pattern here. I have a feeling I won't be stopping at one of these. They are easy and fun to make, not to mention that they are super cute!

This particular wash cloth is going to be part of a gift for a sweet, little bambina. I found this organic, all-natural baby wash at Target. It cost a bit more than I would usually spend on such a product, but it smelled so good and heck, it's for a gift, so I decided to splurge a little. I hope the wee one will be happy with her present.

Slow-Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

It has finally started feeling like Autumn, sunny but with a crisp chill in the air. I have been wanting to try out some new soup recipes and it is now time to do just that. This recipe is from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, the tome I turn to most often when I want to make something tasty. I was glad that I made this recipe because it turned out to be very tasty indeed! It has a beef stew-type flavor but is not quite as heavy. Simply delicious!

I had to go out and purchase a new slow-cooker for this recipe because the 5-quart size I received as a wedding gift 13+ years ago wasn't big enough. I found a 7-quart Rival Crock Pot at Kmart for $30 (plus there is a $5 rebate!). It isn't one of those fancy-dancy programmable pots that you can find nowadays, but I figure that the less it has going on, the less likely it is to break. It made an excellent pot of soup and that's good enough for me!

To make the soup, first trim and cut up a 3-pound chuck roast into 1/2-inch pieces. Dry the meat with paper towels and salt and pepper it generously. Brown the beef in two or three batches using 2 teaspoons of oil per batch in a hot skillet. Put the beef into the slow-cooker. Heat up 2 more teaspoons of oil and cook 2 onions and 2 carrots that have been chopped medium, along with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook them about 5 minutes or until they are soft. Stir in 1/2 cup of a dry red wine and let it simmer for about a minute. Put the onions and carrots into the cooker along with a 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes, 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, 4 cups of low-sodium beef broth, 1 teaspoon dried thyme and 2/3 cup pearled barley. Cook for 6 to 7 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high, until the meat is tender. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Tuscan Garlic Chicken Pasta

Here's another winner from Cook's Country magazine. This was in the recipe card section of the April/May 2009 issue. My 9-year old gobbled it up and went back for seconds! It makes a lot (we had enough for 2 dinners) and reheats nicely. Just a warning: it is very garlicky.

Start heating enough water to boil 1 pound of penne pasta. Mix 6 minced garlic cloves, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes and 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil together and heat this mix in the microwave for about a minute, until you can smell the garlic. Dry 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the garlic flavored oil in a large skillet (be careful not to add the garlic pieces or red pepper flakes) and cook chicken until brown and cooked through. Cover the cooked chicken with foil for 5 minutes, then slice into bite size pieces.

Salt the pasta water (about 1 tablespoon salt) and boil the pasta until al dente. Reserve some of the pasta water in a measuring cup to thin out the sauce later on. After draining, put the penne back in the pot and add the sliced chicken, 1 (5oz) bag of baby arugula or baby spinach (I used spinach), 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, 6 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese and the rest of the garlic oil. Thin with pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

(Does anyone know why Blogger sometimes takes out the spaces between your paragraphs? Or how to put them back?)

Burp Cloths

Sometimes I want to sew something for a new bambino, but I'm short on time. When this happens, I turn to embellished burp cloths. They are simply pre-folded cloth diapers fancied up with a simple machine applique. I don't have a detailed tutorial on making these, but I have come across instructions for applique in my travels around the web, and I'm sure that a quick search would turn up some fine sites to visit.

I basically iron a square of fusible web (such as Wonder-Under or Heat n Bond) to the back of a scrap of fabric, draw a simple shape on the backing paper of the web (I used an extra-large cookie cutter as a template for the heart shape), then cut it out. Fuse the shape to one end of a pre-folded cloth diaper and use your sewing machine (with a heavy-duty or denim needle) to make a tight zig-zag stitch all around the edge of the applique (like a satin-stitch). You could also sew a blanket stitch by hand. These are quick to whip up and make a nice, handmade addition to a gift of purchased baby items.

I have also used this technique to embellish kitchen towels:

Maple-Orange Glazed Chicken

Oh, baby! This is a keeper. I just tried this recipe from the October/November '08 issue of Cook's Country magazine. Not only did hubby like it, both kids liked it, too! This will be showing up on our plates often. Most of the recipes I try from Cook's Country are ones that I will make over and over again. I'm a big fan of America's Test Kitchen, who puts out CC and Cook's Illustrated. All the testing they put into their recipes makes each one turn out great.


For the Maple-Orange Glazed Chicken, you need to cut 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts in half, cross-wise. Kitchen shears are very helpful here in cutting across the bone. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. For the sauce, whisk together 1/2 cup real maple syrup, 2 teaspoons dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon grated orange zest, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, and 1 teaspoon minced, fresh thyme together and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, oven safe skillet and brown the skin side of the chicken. Flip the chicken over and put the skillet into a 475-degree oven until the chicken is brown and cooked through (15 minutes). Put the chicken on a plate and cover with foil.

Pour off the fat from the pan and add the sauce ingredients. Cook the sauce over medium heat until thickened. Add salt and pepper as desired. Add the chicken to the sauce and turn to coat.


I ended up over cooking my chicken slightly; it was a bit on the dry side. But, the sauce made up for some of the moisture. The next day, the left-overs were actually quite moist. I think that next time I will double the sauce ingredients so there is more of that delicious goodness to go around.

Edamame

sweet, green pods of soy
popping them in one by one
they're nature's fun food



Enough with the haiku. I offer up thanks to the humble soybean, or its fancy Japanese name, edamame (ed uh mom aye). It is one of the few vegetables that my kids actually beg for. (Actually, the only one.) They love to pop the beans out of the pod and hilarity ensues when the beans over-shoot their mark! I also love that they are so easy to prepare and keep on hand. And they're cheap, too.

When I make them, I boil 2 to 3 quarts of water for a 1lb bag of frozen beans (in the pod). When it comes to a boil, add 1 tablespoon table salt and then dump in the soybeans. Cover and cook until the water just starts to boil again and the pods all float to the top. Drain and rinse with cold water. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Pop the beans from the pod straight into your mouth. If they are difficult to pop, cook them just a bit longer next time.