party planning

I think I’m getting burnt out on party planning. Two big parties (Jake’s 1st communion and Laura’s 1st birthday) within a month of each other is a little much, especially since I want to make them different. I’ve come to appreciate the wonder of online printing for things like invitations, return address labels, and thank you notes. I have everything done for the 1st communion party, just ready to be mailed. I picked up some invites on clearance at Target for Laura’s party, but I’m not sure if I’ll use them this year or save them.

Menus are ironed out for both events, thankfully! For the communion party, I’m going to make a tray of either chicken marsala or lemon chicken and ask Drew’s aunt to make a pasta dish. I’ll add a salad and call it done. Also, we won’t get a cake for the communion party — we’re going to do mini eclairs and cream puffs for dessert instead. For Laura’s party, my mom is going to order this delicious chicken lasagna she got for my sister-in-law’s shower. I’ll add salad and some bread and of course the birthday cake. Figuring out the menu is always the most difficult thing, so at least with that done I can concentrate on other details.

Chocolate Overload

Yesterday I was having a rough day. Not bad, per se, but it just wasn’t going right. I ended up self-medicating with copious amounts of chocolate. Ugh… I felt so gross afterwards. I don’t usually do something like that. If I did, I’d need to be taking something like adipex. The worst part was how awful I felt mentally afterwards, knowing I’d just overdone it. Well, today is a new day and I can get myself back on track!

Christmas Countdown

It just occurred to me how close we are getting to Christmas! I’d love to have another cocktail party like we did a few years ago. It’s fun to design holiday invitations and plan the menu, and of course visit with good friends. I’m not sure if we’ll get to it, though. I do, however, have to seriously start thinking about my Christmas Day menu. Do I want to do a roast? Brunch? Ham? Sigh… I don’t want to leave it to the last minute. Last year I did beef tenderloin. That was simple and it was well-received. Maybe I’ll just do that again. Otherwise I’m thinking roast beef. It’s also easy to make and everyone enjoys it. Guess it’s time to start pulling out the cookbooks.

Delicious Chicken Curry Recipe

I’ve craved Indian food quite a bit during this pregnancy. On Tuesday nights, a local Indian restaurant has a buffet and I so wanted to go, but there is no way the boys would it. So I decided to make some curry at home, and boy did it come out great! I found that for our tastes, one seeded jalepeno pepper and one with the seeds gives just enough heat. Even still, I could have used some safety equipment when I was cooking — specifically, goggles! After I added those peppers, wow! My eyes stung a bit, so I immediately put the vent fan on. Anyway, if you are looking for a quick and easy recipe, here you go:

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1-2 green chilies, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1-inch chunk of ginger, diced (or shredded)
salt, to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil
chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

Heat oil in a deep pan and add cumin seeds. Wait till they start to sizzle, then add sliced onions and green chilies. Fry till onions soften and lightly brown. Add turmeric, chili powder, coriander, cumin, garlic, and ginger, and fry till fragrant. Add tomatoes and a bit of water. Cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes get pulpy. Add in salt and chicken pieces and allow to come to a simmer. Add about a cup of water, and cover. Cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes till chicken is cooked through.

Sprinkle with garam masala and fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with rice and plain yogurt.

I actually like to make this early in the day and let it sit so that the flavors really come together.

Chocolate Cake with Sour Cream Frosting

Remember the other day when I was craving chocolate cake? Well, I decided to give into temptation and bake one. I got the recipe from Lisanne and I hope she won’t mind me posting it here as well! I also made a sour cream frosting to go on top. I’d never made this before and unfortunately it didn’t go over well with my family. I liked it well enough, but Drew didn’t care for it and Jake thought it was just OK. Still, it was healthier than a traditional frosting with butter or shortening. Here’s a photo and the recipes. I hope you enjoy!

Double Chocolate Snack Cake

1 2/3 C all-purpose flour
1 C packed brown sugar or granulated sugar
1/4 C baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C water
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Pour into an 8×8×2? greased pan. (You can sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the batter instead, if you want.) Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

In a double boiler, or in a saucepan set over a pan of hot (not boiling) water, melt the chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Add the sour cream and the vanilla and beat, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth and creamy. Let cool just slightly - until the frosting begins to thicken. But don’t wait too long because it will quickly thicken beyond spreadability. Spread frosting evenly over cake or brownies, then chill until set.

Makes enough to fill and frost one 9-inch two-layer cake, or a couple of pans of brownies.

Another Snow Day

So today is snow day number five for the school Jake attends. If they have any more snow days, it will start eating into vacation time. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen! I am so over the snow, really. The cold, the bleak landscape… ugh. But what can I do about it, really? So I’m trying to make the best of it. I think this afternoon I’ll bake something with the boys. Originally I’d planned on banana nut muffins, but chocolate cake is sounding so good to me. I’ve been pretty careful about what I eat, but honestly, the carbs just call out to me. Let’s hope that after this baby is born I lose the weight quickly and won’t need to think about diet products. Hopefully nursing and proper nutrition will help the pounds come off easily! But for now, in this midwinter funk, a piece of cake won’t hurt anyone.

Snowman Sundaes

What do you on a cold, blustery snow day in New York? Why, you make snowman sundaes of course! (I guess unless you’re taking something like Fenphedra - the sundaes would kind of defeat the purpose of the pill, don’t you think?) The idea was actually inspired by a sundae currently offered by Friendly’s. I was charmed by the adorable, delicious-looking snowman on the table tent. However, when I saw someone order one, well… the product was nowhere near as charming. So I thought I could do a better job at home and it would be a fun craft for the boys, as well. I think they did a great job! Check out their creations:

Super Deal at Shop Rite!

Oh, I am so excited! I have been trying to figure out what to serve for Christmas dinner. I wanted something easy and something that won’t create a ton of leftovers. Last night I was looking at the new Shop Rite flyer and starting with tomorrow’s sale they have beef tenderloin (filet mignon) on sale for $4.99/lb! They do this every few months and last time I was not able to take advantage of the deal. But I’m going to be sure to get my butt over to the grocery store this week. I don’t want to miss it again. The tenderloin will make such an easy and elegant dinner! What a weight off my mind.

Apple Crisp

Last night I made my favorite apple crisp recipe and thought I’d share it with you. But  beware: it is absolutely delicious. You will want to eat a lot of it, and I don’t want to be held responsible for any weight gain that might result in the need for weight loss pills, LOL. At any rate, I hope you enjoy, because my family does!

4 Cups sliced apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 Cup water
1/3 Cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup flour
1 Cup sugar

Place apples in buttered 10×6×2 baking dish. Sprinkle cinnamon, salt & water. Rub together flour, sugar & butter. Drop mixture over apples. Bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

This is from a vintage Betty Crocker Kid’s Cookbook that I have. I’ve tried many apple crisp recipes but this simple version is by far the best!

So much to do!

Argh! So I am kind of stressed out today. I feel like I just have SO MUCH to do this week, but today in particular. In about 45 minutes I need to interview someone for a newspaper article. Then I need to write up that story, as well as one from an interview I conducted on Thursday. I to go through myrecipes and finalize a meal plan for the week. Oh, and have you seen the mountain of laundry that needs to be folded, ironed, and put way? Not to mention errands to the bank, post office and grocery store… YIKES! I am hoping that once this interview is done I’ll feel like a have a better handle on things. I just have a feeling it’s going to be a tough one. Hopefully I”m wrong.