Wednesday Hodgepodge: It's Chili Out

1. Where do you go when you need some inspiration?

Place, person, or thing? Pretty pictures of Hygge things, that would be Pinterest. Words of wisdom, ideas about dinner, or an opinion on whether something matches, that would be Mr. Fixit. A reminder that so many lives intertwine: online friends.

And don't forget books.

2. What's under your bed?

Storage baskets, spare bedding, and a Christmas tree.

3. Thursday, February 22nd is National Chili Day, National Margarita Day, and National Cook a Sweet Potato Day. Of the three which would you most like to celebrate? Is that likely?

I made white chicken chili on Tuesday, so I guess that counts.

Chicken Chili, adapted from "White Chili" on A Year of Slow Cooking

2 cups chicken broth
some chopped cooked chicken
1 can corn, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 little can chopped green chilies (don't drain)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chopped garlic (I used jarred garlic)
a little salt, pepper, and oregano, plus a spoonful of dried onion flakes

Combine in a pot, bring to a boil, turn down to low, and cook for about an hour. Serve with sour cream.

4. What are you 'snowed under' with right now?

Not exactly snowed under, but pretty busy with course work. It means I am not finding much time for blogging right now.

5. Tell us three to five things that make you feel balanced?

An interesting question, but I'm not sure of the answer(s). One would be Sunday worship in church, as a start/end to the week. Also having a mix of things to do, between working at home and going out.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm halfway through the current 10 x 10 Wardrobe Challenge! 

And in relation to that, I did something yesterday that could be considered strange. After I finished my volunteer morning at the thrift store, I saw that the two blazers I donated recently, and that I had been feeling a bit regretful about, had been relegated to the 75% off rack. So I bought them back for $2 each. Better than sending them to be baled up and shipped off or turned into seat filling or whatever might have been their destination.

Linked from The Wednesday Hodgepodge at From Across the Pond.

Wednesday Hodgepodge: A recipe for contentment

1. When you think about your future what do you fear most? Hope for the most?

"He that is down needs fear no fall,
He that is low no pride;
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.

I am content with what I have,
Little be it or much;
And, Lord, contentment still I crave,
Because thou savest such.

Fulness to such a burden is
That go on pilgrimage:
Here little, and hereafter bliss,
Is best from age to age."

~~ John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress (Part II)

2. September is National Chicken Month. How often is chicken on the menu at your house? What's a favorite dish made with chicken? What's something you're a 'chicken' about doing or trying?

We used to have chicken quite often, but lately it's been expensive. Sometimes Mr. Fixit buys a whole small chicken and we do it in the slow cooker, with a little seasoning or maybe barbecue sauce. Lydia had a friend here for dinner on the weekend and I made Ten Napkins Sticky Chicken, something we hadn't had for a long time but that everybody likes.

You could say I am a chicken when it comes to climbing high things or going too close to the edge. Like on apartment balconies, ahem. I prefer to admire the view from inside.

3. What are three things you don't own but wish you did?

That's an interesting question. Here's Mr. Fixit's list:

"A garage with a hoist, and a 1969 Nikko amplifier."

Here's my list:

My Samsung tablet is going to need replacing soon, so that's on my wish list.

If I ever take another more-than-overnight trip, I would like to have one of the newer-style bags with a handle and wheels.

But honestly...there isn't much else. When I went to Toronto last week, I had half an hour to stroll through the big-name stores we don't have here, before heading to the subway station under the mall. When I was younger, going to that mall with my parents was a rare and special treat. Even when I lived in the city as a student, I enjoyed browsing through the shops full of things I couldn't afford.  This time, I left there thinking, "I'm glad I already like my own things." (And that wasn't just because I was heading to the Tiny Wardrobe Tour.)

4. Would you rather be a jack of all trades or a master of one? Elaborate.  If you answered one, which one?

Mr. Fixit says "Master of electronics." Which I think he is already, but he's also handy at other things.

Me...I'm not sure how to answer that. Definitely not all trades, maybe good at a couple.

5. Ketchup or mustard? On what?

Ketchup: mixed with brown sugar, baked under Leanne Ely's Upside-Down Meatloaf.

Mustard: on Oktoberfest sausage on a bun.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

I just finished re-reading Little Women, the first part. (Like The Pilgrim's Progress, there's a lot of argument over whether you include the second part in the general title.) It wasn't a book I loved when I was growing up, although I think I did plow dutifully through it once, along with Eight Cousins and Jack and Jill. I was more of an Anne fan. This time through, I was looking for different things; and I was surprised at a few details that don't usually make it into filmed versions. The long serious conversations, mostly. The mailbox in their back yard--Alcott seemed to love that kind of detail, and there was a similar setup in Jack and Jill, where they sent "things" (we are not given all the details) in a basket across a clothesline. I also liked the picnic with their British counterparts, where every character contributes the next part of an ad-libbed story. It was a clever way for her to reinforce each one's traits and point of view.  Again, it's the sort of scene that comes up in Jack and Jill (a lengthy play-by-play of their debating society meeting and then a dramatic performance), and in An Old-Fashioned Girl (a detailed description of the conversations at a young working women's lunch). Conversations and long descriptions of what games they played or who did what on stage are the sort of thing abridgers like to axe...too long, don't move the plot...but I think they sometimes show the author at her most relaxed, and they give us some unintended but genuine "peeps" into what people of the time did and thought--when they weren't trying to be too high-minded.

Linked from The Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

What's for supper? Skillet Chili Chicken: did you like it, dear?

Tonight's dinner menu, which felt to me like that thing you make when your boyfriend is coming to dinner and you want to show him you can actually cook:

Skillet Chili Chicken, from Saving Dinner, which is not chili but chicken pieces browned in spices, then simmered in a sauce made of canned chilies and broth plus sour cream added at the end

Mix of brown rice and barley, in the slow cooker

Vegetables: use-it-up mixture of zucchini, peppers, frozen spinach, and a couple of mushrooms

Oatmeal-chocolate chip bars

Ketchup is not Chinese (Do-Vember #3)

Do-Vember

I don't pin a lot of recipes, because I honestly wouldn't remember to go look for them if I did. In the realm of food, I post more links to general things like "Ten Healthy Freezer Meals." But one of the first recipes I ever pinned, probably a year ago, that I never ever have printed out or made, is Crockpot Sesame Chicken. I was sucked in by that delicious-looking photo, and it has stayed on my Supper board ever since.

When I looked at the actual list of ingredients today (thinking that it was time to fish chicken or cut bait, I realized that the sauce is almost identical to the magic ketchup-based Honey Garlic sauce for chicken and pork that we've been making for several years. The recipe is the one from A Year of Slow Cooking, except that I cut the soy sauce in half and it still tastes good. It works in the slow cooker, in the oven, and on the stovetop. We've even put it in small bags of pork or chicken for freezer meals. It is the tastes-most-like-Chinese-restaurant thing I know how to make, and I realize how bizarre that sounds (ketchup? basil?), but you have to try it to believe it.

So I guess it's time to unpin the Sesame Chicken photo; and next time I make Honey Garlic Chicken, I might try sprinkling some sesame seeds on top as well.

What's for supper? Chicken Fajita Pizza

Chicken Fajita Pizza, partly done baking

How to make Chicken Fajita Pizza:

In the biggest (greased) pan you have that will fit the toaster oven, stretch half a recipe of pizza dough; that is, the amount you get if you use two cups of flour. I used a big casserole dish.

Spread with tomato sauce and leftover chicken fajita filling, chopped. I added another chopped pepper. Push the filling down so that the crust goes up the sides of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and start baking the pizza. Somewhere along the line, take it out and add grated cheese on top.

Keep baking until the crust is done and everything is heated through. You'll probably have to eat it with forks, but that's okay.

What's for supper? How could we be out of pasta?

Well, we weren't entirely out of pasta. We did have elbow macaroni and a few lasagna noodles. I have been allowing certain stockpiled things to get way down there before buying more, and pasta was one of them.

So tonight's dinner was Chicken with Lasagna Noodles. And Peas, and Toaster-Oven Brownies.

Recipe: Brown some cut-up boneless chicken breasts in a large skillet. Add thinned pasta sauce, bring to a boil, and add broken-up lasagna noodles. Let simmer until almost done, stirring occasionally, then add some cheese (your choice what kind). You can turn it off a few minutes before serving, to let it all come together

That's all!

What's for supper? Fajita pie

Tonight's dinner menu: Fajita Pie, if that's what you'd call it, spinach salad, and cherries.

In my yard-saled ceramic dish, I layered chicken that was cooked with salsa; a little can of green chilies; whole wheat tortillas; a little tomato sauce; a can of Romano beans, drained and rinsed; and cottage cheese mixed with shredded cheese; not all in that exact order. I added extra Jack cheese on top. It is baking in the toaster oven right now.

Freezer meal reviews #3

What we've eaten recently:

Chicken Tikka Masala: This was just okay, could have used more oomph. The next time I cook one of the Tikka Masala packages, I will probably try it on the stovetop (instead of the slow cooker) to see if the flavours hold up better.

Chicken Cacciatore: We had this for dinner tonight and really liked it. I added a small can of tomato paste because it seemed to need it; otherwise it was good as written.

Next up: I think one of the stew beef packages, because Lydia is trying out for basketball, and if she makes the team we may will be eating late some nights.

What's for supper? Oven meal

Tonight's dinner menu:

Honey-mustard chicken
Baked sweet potatoes
Casserole of leftover Pasta with Garlicky Greens and Beans (mostly just the pasta) plus cheese, milk, broth, and extra seasonings

Cranberry-blueberry crisp.

What's for supper? Chicken cacciatore

I know, too much slow cooker this week, but I wasn't sure when I'd be home to cook today.

So we are having:

Slow cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Pasta
Cheese
Carrot sticks

Stovetop blueberry crisp.

What's for supper? Invented casserole

Tonight's dinner menu:

Chicken-vegetable casserole
Baked potatoes

Pears baked with dates and a little honey

Chicken Vegetable Casserole I Just Invented

Ingredients:

2 cups leftover cooked ground chicken with taco seasonings
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen broccoli, more if you love broccoli
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 cup shredded cheese (I used a Tex-Mex blend with jalapenos)
Whole wheat bread crumbs mixed with a little olive oil, enough to cover the top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a greased 8-inch square pan or casserole dish, combine leftover chicken and vegetables. Combine broth, sour cream and egg, and pour over vegetables. Cover top of casserole with cheese, then crumbs moistened with olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees until set. I took it out after 45 minutes and let it sit 10 minutes before cutting.

You could add extra seasonings, but our chicken and cheese were already well-seasoned, so I let it be.

What's for supper? Orange crockpot chicken, and a muffin recipe

Tonight's menu:

Crockpot Orange Thyme Chicken, from Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner. Review: it was okay, but the orange flavour was a little intense, and it definitely needed salt. Oh well.
Egg noodles
Mixed vegetables

Yogurt
Ginger-oatmeal muffins

GINGER-OATMEAL MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp. ground flax seed (optional, we had some so I used it)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg
1/2 cup canola oil or equivalent preferred fat
about 1 cup plain yogurt
a bit of applesauce, maybe 1/2 cup
water as needed to correct the dry-wet ratio

Preheat oven. Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately, then mix together, adjusting liquid if needed. The batter will start to look a bit bubbly right away, so get it in the oven quickly. Spoon into greased or lined muffin cups. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 375 degrees F. Makes 12 large or 24 small muffins.

What's for supper? Chicken vegetable pasta, and options

Tonight's dinner menu:

Chicken-vegetable sauce, or just vegetable sauce
Pennine

Pita crisps (made in the oven)

Sweet potato hummus

Apples, bananas, oranges

What's for supper? We eat our veggies

Tonight's dinner menu:

Chicken and rice from last night
Pan-cooked carrots
Spinach steamed with mushrooms

Pumpkin cookies, made with the last frozen cupful from a Hallowe'en pumpkin

What's for supper? Slow Cooker (Chicken) Burrito Bowl

Tonight's dinner menu:

For those who eat meat: Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl  (thanks, Heather)

For those who don't: Hillbilly Housewife's Taco Style Lentils and Rice, minus the bouillon cubes and with more lentils than rice

Taco toppings, whatever seems to be in the fridge: cheese, sour cream, chopped vegetables, salsa, some blue-corn tortilla chips we bought last week

Last night's Applesauce Spice Star Muffins.

What's for supper? And a lovely pumpkin head

Tonight's menu:

Garlic Lime Chicken, from Saving Dinner (see video below)
Brown rice
Acorn squash
Tortilla chips, sour cream

The pumpkin was in the oven with the squash and the rice, to save energy.  I cut the face in it afterwards! (The top picture is just fooling around with the photo editor.)

Thanksgiving Sunday, Come for Dinner (photo post)

Front hall

The last of the garden flowers

Roast Chicken

Perogy Casserole

Veggies

Chocolate Tofu Pie

Squash Loaf and apricots

And then we do the dishes.

What's for supper?

Tonight's dinner menu:

Choice of two kinds of chicken thighs: baked with orange-ginger sauce (positively the last of the bottle), or baked with Thousand Island dressing and sauerkraut, Reuben-style.  It was a big package and there were too many to fit in one baking dish, so I made two kinds.

Baked potatoes
Mixed vegetables
Beer bread.

What's for supper? Chicken tortillas in a pan

Tonight's dinner menu:

Chicken Tortilla Helper:  ground chicken, cut-up tortillas, black beans, cheddar cheese, homemade taco seasoning, a little salsa, all in a skillet.
Frozen green and yellow beans

A small thawed pumpkin loaf, pears and apples.

What's for supper? Chicken tonight.

Tonight's dinner menu:

Chicken chunks, coated in salad dressing and homemade garlic bread crumbs (leftover bread in the freezer), baked till crispy
Acorn squash
Reheated mashed potatoes
Spinach salad

Fresh pears