nEW

Oh, yes, that EW is capital in the title!  For this weeks "new" dinner, Bill grabbed a package of frozen seafood.  There were mussels, clams, octopi, cuttlefish, small peices of cod, and shrimp.  And it was all already cooked. And it smelled bad before the bag was open.  (not like it had gone bad, but like it was already overcooked) I encouraged him to change his mind, but he said it was either the bag of seafood "stuff" or the $17 and pound frozen crayfish that they had at the seafood counter.  Being the cheap girl that I am, I decided to go for the seafood stuff..... MISTAKE!!!

I also got a half pound of shrimp becuase it was on sale, and I figured that it would be ok with the bag-o-seafood. 

I started by defrosting the bag-o-stuff and shelling the shrimp.  They went in the fridge while I made the base for what I am calling my seafood stEW. 

I used:
1 package of frozen corn
1 regular sized can of tomaotes
2 Onions, diced
2 tablespoons of basil, minced garlic, parsley and oregano
2 tablespoons of butter and EVOO
2 teaspoons  salt
1 cup chicken or seafood stock
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white wine
1 packaged cooked  bag-o-seafood, thawed
1/2 lb of shrimp, shelled and chopped in half
2 cups cooked rice

I started by heating the oil and butter in a large pot, and added the onion and garlic. Cook for until the onions are soft and add everything except the seafood and the shrimp.  Put a lid on your pot, bring to a boil, and then reduce to simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the seafood and cook until the raw shrimp is cooked (4-5 minutes).  Serve over the rice. 


If I would have had all fresh ingrediants I think this would have been pretty good. I tried the sauce before I put the seafood in, and it was quite flavorful!  The bag of stuff was just not good....I should have used fresh stuff.... I am not a huge fan of mussles or clams, so I may not have used them, but Billy likes them.  I have to say it again, the bag-o-stuff was just not good!  Billy pretended to like it for a little bit, but then even gave up. 

Oh well, not everything can be great! All that matters is that I'm still trying to make new things and that I am working towards becoming a better cook!

Eat something good for me-- just don't eat that bag-o-seafood! yuck!

New meal!

For my weekly never before meal Billy grabbed Chicken wings, mini potatoes, and a shallot.  I grabbed artichokes, a bottle of white wine, and lemons.  I decided to make lemon, oregano and thyme chicken with mini potatoes and artichokes.

I grow a lot of my own herbs- thyme and oregano being two of the varieties I currently have.... trust me, I do NOT have a green thumb! In fact, I am pretty good at killing plants.... I just grow my own stuff because 1) I'm cheap! and 2) this way I know I'll have it when I need it! I just used the last of my oregano, so I need to find another plant.  I also grow basil, tomatoes, jalapenos, and parsley.  We had an explosion of tomatoes getting ripe this week, and I need to either make a LOT of salsa or find something to make them with!  I think salsa may be in the cards!!:)

The chicken turned out reallllllyyyyy good, but I think I would use either a chicken breast next time, or maybe drumsticks..... the darker meat just stays so flavorful!! Chicken wings are just hard to eat if they aren't fried!!!

Here's what I used:
1 very juicy lemon, zested and juiced- use 1 1/2 if your lemon is not so juicy
1/4 cup of white wine
1/2 tablespoon oregano if fresh- less if dried
1 teaspoon fresh thyme.
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 tablespoon EVOO
1 shallot, minced
one package of chicken wings or breasts or drumsticks
Combine all the ingrediants in a plastic bag and then add the chicken.  Marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours.

When ready to cook, preheat the over to 400.  Put the chicken and the marinade in a 13X9 baking dish.  cover pretty tightly with foil and cook for about 40 minutes.  Take the foil off and turn the broiler on, broil for about 5 minutes so the top gets a little crispy! Remove the chicken from the pan, then pour the juices in a little pot and reduce on the stove by about half.

While the chicken is working, you can make a marinade for the artichokes.
You'll need:
1 lemon
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon EVOO
2 teaspoons thyme
2 cleaned artichokes

Combine the marinade ingredients in another bag. Add the artichokes.  Marinade the artichokes on the counter for a few minutes-- until the chicken has about 30 minutes to go.

Pour the artichokes and about half of the marinade in a baking dish.  Cover with tinfoil, but make a small vent in the foil.  Cook for about 25-30 minutes.

And, last but defiantly not least were the potatoes! I am not a huge potato fan unless they are fried into french fries, but these were EXCELLENT!!
For the potatoes:
1 bag of mini potatoes
2 tablespoons EVOO
salt
pepper
garlic powder

toss the potatoes in the evoo and sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Bake in the oven with the chicken and aritchokes for about 20-25 minutes.  While the chicken is broiling, broil the potatoes too!! They get even crispier!!

Oh, and that sauce you reduced? Use it on the chicken, and then dip the potatoes in it while you are eating! They are SOOOOOO good! I think they may have been my favorite thing last night.

If you want, you can make a simple butter sauce for the artichokes, but I thought they were fine without it and actually mixed some of the butter sauce with the chicken sauce for an even better dipping sauce for the  potatoes!

This one is defiantly a keeper!!

Picture courtesy of my sweet husband, Billy!

Something new...

When I was telling my husband, Billy, about making a blog about food he thought it was a good idea.  Then he pointed out the fact that I tend to make the same things over and over and over!  An idea he gave me was to have a once a week dinner where I make something that I never have before.  This will be the first of those never before attempted meals!
      Today is also my last day of summer vacation (BOO!) and I met Billy for lunch since it will be a while before we get to spend a weekday together again.  After dining on some really good Chinese for lunch, we headed over to Fresh Market.  Billy wheeled around the store like a mad man and picked up 4 peaches, an artichoke, 3 different kinds of cheese, and a veal shank.

I had an idea right away for the cheese-it's  kind of obvious, mac and cheese, but I am going to bake it in the oven to make it extra good!  I have never ever used a whole artichoke before, and I still have no idea when I am going to do with it, but I'm sure that it will be fine.  The veal shank is another story.  I was watching the food network the other day, and Ann Burell was making oso bucco, so I'm thinking I may make that.  The peaches are going to go into a cobbler.  I made Bill some peach cobbler a couple of weeks ago and he LOVED it, so that's what I am going to do again.

Wish me luck!! (I may need it!!)