randomly chaotic and frequently mundane

ok, so a few days ago i did some chicken breasts for dinner (boneless/skinless).  i marinated them allday in the juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime w/ a dash of garlic salt and pepper for good measure.

then i wrapped em in foil on a bed of chopped onion (just a little — 1 thin slice chopped per breast) with about 2 tbsp of “religious experience” mild salsa on top.  and baked em till they were done.  twas delish.

today i chopped up the one that was leftover and mixed it with a little mayo and emeril’s kicked up horseradish mustard to make a nice chicken salad.  it’s so good i’m eating it plain — i don’t want to share it with bread.  this would need special bread to do it justice.

chicken for dinner.  i have boneless skinless chicken (thighs).  i’m thinking of doing some kind of stuffing with the mushrooms that are a few days from being… well… not good for anything.  seared then baked… and perhaps a gravy or sauce to accompany.  i have no idea why.  i’m just in the mood to cook something groovy.

i’m also thinking i should start contemplating submissions for the chicken recipe contest now.  i know they probably won’t be due till like october or something, but last year i only gave myself 2 months or so to come up with recipes.

one of the recipes i submitted last year: southwest chili con pollo

1 onion, diced
1-1/5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced
1 c. water
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2-4oz cans diced mild green chiles
15 oz can corn, drained
15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp paprika
1 tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tbs white wine vinegar

in a large stock pot, combine chicken and onion and cook until chicken is cooked thru.

add water, tomatoes, chiles, corn and beans, stir and bring to a simmer.

stir in oregano, paprika, chili powder, pepper, garlic salt and vinegar, bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer uncovered stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes.

serve over rice.

made some deviled eggs today with some of the easter eggs.  but i made em a little bit different.  usually i mash up the yolks w/ a little mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.  today instead of regular mustard or dijon mustard… i used some hot mustard i got w/ some chinese i ordered a few days ago…

oh my god were they some good deviled eggs!

thank you, that is all.

gage got himself a basket full of candy and a new bubble gun.  he’s enjoying the candy.  so’s mommy, he he.  there are a few things that he’s not going to be eating (like the cadbury creme egg).  my favorite part of the whole easter holiday is the candy.  whoppers robin eggs are divine — whoppers w/ a candy shell on the outside.  cadbury products are of course the ultimate… creme eggs, caramel eggs, fudge eggs and mini eggs.  a former co-worker from birmingham england mentioned that there they have a cadbury product there… a large hollow chocolate egg filled with little chocolate easter figures and stuff.  i would love to be able to get one of those.

did a lamb roast in the rotisserie.  quite tasty.  made a wet rub w/ about a tablespoon of christopher ranch crushed garlic (paste), 2 teaspoons of greek seasoning, the juice of half a lemon, a dash of liquid smoke and about a tablespoon of emeril’s horseradish mustard.  god did that come out tasty.

i mentioned awhile back a “salmon incident” with gage… where he tried to cut a salmon filet w/ a butter knife.  and said something about letting gage help a little in the kitchen.

interesting thing about gage in the kitchen.  if the stove is on, he doesn’t touch anything.  ok, there have been a couple of random incidents where he touched the side of a pot that something was cooking in, but each time he drew his hand back quickly, and looked at me like “that’s why you said don’t touch!”  he hasn’t cried.  he hasn’t burned himself.

so yesterday i decided to make pizza.  gage helped me put flour into the bowl while i was mixing the dough.  he also helped me punch the dough down once.

today i took the leftover dough, fried it and sprinkled it with sugar.  helped me “flatten” the dough.

we’re going to dye eggs this week.  i’ve already hard boiled them so we can do them whenever the mood takes us.  2 dozen should be enough.  there’s going to be deviled eggs and tuna salad for awhile, lol.

i thawed out a salmon fillet for dinner.  it’s big so i cut it in half.  gage watched me cut the fillet i half.

and then he got a butter knife out of the drawer and tried to cut one of the halves.  it was cute.  maybe i should start letting him “help” me in the kitchen a little bit.  he seems to be very interested in whatever i’m doing when i’m in the kitchen.

i’ve decided to enter pillsbury’s annual contest. why not. i’ve got some good, creative ideas and it’s a chance at $1million. for what amounts to creating something delicious out of convenience food.

i’ve only got a month to submit my recipes… so i was perusing the list of ingredients to use. each recipe has to use a certain amount of at least 2 ingredients. and has to fall into one of the categories they’re judging this year: breakfast & brunches, pizza creations, entertaining appetizers, old el paso mexican favorites and sweet treats. i’ve got at least 1 idea in each of those categories, so it’s all good.

it’s nice getting my cooking enthusiasm back… it started waning in mid january… it was very very sad. i was not pleased at all.