Kitchen Gadgets and What's to Come!

Who doesn't love kitchen gadgets? I am kinda obsessed with them, not gonna lie.

Recently I got two new "gadgets". One is the Rachel Ray EVOO storage container. I love it. And I love it because of how unique looking it is. This buddy I got for free using our debt rewards through our bank but you can get it on Amazon for like 20$.

Second "gadget" I bought was a new spice rack. I am slowly getting rid of the blonde wood accessories I had in my kitchen and replacing them with modern black, red or brushed copper accessories. I love how awesome the containers look! This is the Old Thompson Orbit Spice Rack. It rocks.

And what is coming up for Pioneer Apron is:

Lil Cheesy Meatloaves, mashed potatoes and green beans (recipe from Tasty Kitchen)
Indiana Pudding Bowls, Ham and Cheese crescent rolls and Chicken Pot Pie (all but Indiana Pudding Bowls from Tasty Kitchen)
Mushroom and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Mashed potatoes, Corn (Recipe from Tasty Kitchen)
Tater Tot Casserole (new recipe from Tasty Kitchen)
Chicken Bacon Bake with Mashed (recipe from Tasty Kitchen)
Pasta with Whiskey, Wine and Mushrooms (recipe from Pioneer Woman) *this recipe might change*
Sour Cream Meatballs, rice and steamed veggies (recipe from Tasty Kitchen)
Portabella Pot Roast (recipe from Tasty Kitchen, might take the spot of PWs recipe, not sure)
Cheesy Stuffed Shells (recipe from Tasty Kitchen)
Chicken Spaghetti (new recipe from my friend A.S.)
Rotissere Chicken with Corn Casserole (CC from PW site)

Should be a jam packed recipe blog here soon and I hope you all love em :D

Chicken Diva Time!!!

I have always seen Chicken Divan recipes and honestly, have always been afraid to make it.

I mean what's NOT there to love. We have chicken, mushrooms, broccoli and rice. That's it. Then you make a sauce or do like I do and follow a recipe.

The recipe I got was from Tasty Kitchen. That website is seriously becoming my crack (next to reading! and Amazon :D). I found this recipe (there will be a link posted at the end of this blog) and finally decided to make it.

I was going to cook it yesterday for dinner but being it was 85 outside and there is no AC in this house, I decided that making dinner in the oven was just going to be horrible. Mind you, I decided this after the chicken was done and so was the rice. So I put those in storage containers and went and got Popeyes (kinda defeats the purpose of healthy eating but psh).

So today, decided to cook. It was 82 today but awesome breeze. So opened the windows and got down to it. Now I cheated and used a bag of streamed broccoli. Not sure if this has any bearing on the issue with it (that I will discuss later) but I suggest following said recipe and using fresh. I mixed it all together, started putting it together and popped it in the oven. Easy peasey. Took me maybe minutes for prep (since rice and chicken were already done).

Oven goes off, let it stand for five minutes and bam, serve it up!

First bite...delicious. I can taste the garlic but its not that much. Just enough to say Hello! Then I bite into a piece with broccoli.

And my taste for this chicken divan is ruined.

The broccoli is mushy. Hence the problem with frozen vs fresh. Next time, IF I make it again, it will be fresh broccoli. No more cheating.

See, I broke out the nice camera to give you guys some good pictures :D

Recipe for those wondering: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/chicken-divan-casserole-2/

Grrr....

So.....

Mushroom and Swiss sliders and I...

We don't mix.

Period.

That is all.

(For the awesome recipe, head over to PW's site and look for Mushroom and Swiss Sliders under her cooking tab)

Steak Bites...nom nom nom!!

I have always wondered what was the proper way to cook steak bites. (For those that don't know, steak bites is basically just stew meat OR if you don't want all the fat, like I don't, buy beef tips) I would try and experiment with random stuff but it was just...well meh. We would eat it but we would always be like Hmm, what is missing?

When I first found PW's site, I found her steak bites recipe. And it's so simple! Seriously. Salt, Pepper and Butter.

Really?

That's it?

Yup, that's it. And they are sooooooooooooo good. Yes, they deserve that many O's. And you can eat these alone or with some sides. Really, they are kinda verastile.

Or you can be like me and sit at your computer eating them like they are pieces of candy BUT you can't share that with anyone else!

Taken with the baby camera, the beef tips with all the fat cut off.

You can't see it but this was after I added the salt and the pepper. I use the Kosher salt. Seriously, LOVE kosher salt. Why wasn't I aware of this before?

Mmmmm, cooking. I like my meat medium rare but of course, its your personal choice!

And dinner is served. I normally cook some corn and some mashed. NOM NOM NOM!

And for those that are interested, here is the link to the recipe!!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/01/steak-bites/

This news is good news!!

So nothing cooking wise to report until tomorrow (about tonight's dinner) BUT I am getting new pots and pans!!

They were 64% off on Amazon AND those are like 500$ at the base exchange. So needless to say, I am VERY excited to be getting these in the mail. Ours are...well old. Like 10+ years old. They have seen better days!!!

So yeah! Can't wait to cook on something that is brand new, watch I burn something instantly! LOL

Also, I will be adding more pictures. I talked to my friend S last night about it and she is right, I need more pizazz. So I am! The battery is charging as we speak right now :D 

Not a lack of trying....

I haven't been updating as much as I claimed, not from lack of interest or lack of material but because...well I haven't cooked. LOL I have either had people cook for me or like on Friday, I went out to eat with a good friend of mine. That being said....

So Tuesday night I was going to make some Mini Meatball Sandwiches. Instead I woke up and was like screw it, I'll put the Pot Roast in the crock pot.

Now it pains me to admit this, it really does. But the Man in this house actually cooks the BEST freaking pot roast I have ever eaten. Yes...this pains me to admit.

So first time cooking a pot roast, instead of just finding a recipe (which I WILL be doing next time), I bought one of those Tyson Slow Cooker Beef Roast kits.

First time buying it and will be my last. For 14$ you get a piece of meat and some veggies. The meat wasn't that great, lots of fat. It was just two of us eating this (myself and Little Man) and we barely had enough meat that was edible. The vegetables weren't that bad until I got into the onions. They were slimey and wilted. Gross.

I am sure that some people have good luck with these. Not trying to totally bash on the kits but meh. I am always told to try new things and do it yourself, don't take the easy way out and maybe its time to listen :D Next time I venture into the "land of Pot Roasts" I will make my own.

Chick..Chick...CHICKEN SPAGHETTI!!!

So last night I made Chicken Spaghetti. Since it's just me and Little Man for dinner (and god forbid he eat it!!) I made a smaller portion.

Okay let me rephrase that...I made the spaghetti a smaller portion, everything else was right on target. Lots of cheese...shredded sharp cheddar...nom nom nom!

Anyway, so for the second time in the last 2 weeks that I have made this, I forgot to take 2 cups of chicken water out before I started cooking the sghetti.

Yes...again.

So I just made due. Instead of using the water, I added some chicken broth to it. It works BUT make sure you don't add a ton of the other stuff cause then it's just too salty and that just isn't right.

See that delicious goodness? Oh yes. Its awesome :D

So last night, Little Man was just NOT hearing of it with dinner. He doesn't like the "red stuff" or the "green stuff". And he sure as heck doesn't like the onions. So last night, I was literally feeding him off of my plate (he's turning 6 mind you!). But with each bite, I would put a pepper in there. Or an onion in there. Or a pimento. And with each bite, he wanted more. And kept asking for more.

Momma 1   Little Man 0

Gotta love sneaking with the kids :D

Yup, I really do suck (Plus whats to expect this week)

So yeah, I really do suck at blogging.

I guess I should keep up with it more since this is something that I actually enjoy doing.

That's right. I enjoy but I suck at keeping up with it. Nice huh?

Just got back from the grocery story where I spent 160$ for a week. ONE WEEK. Okay so either I am doing something wrong or the price of food has gone up. If anyone cares to enlighten me on this horrid detail, thanks. I even couponed! Argh. Such is life, we need food. No use complaining. Moving on :D

This week's menu for Pioneer Apron is:

Monday- Chicken Spaghetti (you'd think this would have gotten old by now, but it hasn't)
Tuesday- Mini Meatball Subs (recipe from Tasty Kitchen, looks DELISH)
Wednesday- Breaded Chicken Parm (recipe from TK), Corn Casserole (Recipe form PW) and Mashed Potatoes
Thursday- Pot Roast...nom nom nom
Friday- Leftovers. Gonna basically just munch all day :D
Saturday- Tater Tot Cassrole (for some reason, my family LOVES this dish!)
Sunday- Chicken Divan Casserole (recipe from TK)

Then we start the week all over again :D Who knows...next week might just be picking at odds and ends. WHO KNOWS!!

Later I WILL blog about the chicken spaghetti and I even brought out the Big Guy for pictures (my beautimus SLR camera). So the pictures won't be all blurry and junk.