November 14th

Beer In Food

Cooking with alcohol always makes things taste good.  A lot of my recipes use wine, but there are several that use beer.  And I'm always amazed by the depth of flavor that beer adds to a dish.

Spicy White Cheddar Beer Cheese Soup
recipe from: http://aflavorjournal.com/spicy-white-cheddar-beer-cheese-soup/

Beer+cheese+peppers = the most delicious soup.  Beer enhances many different recipes, but if there's one thing it goes best with, it's cheese!  This soup is creamy and packed with flavor.  It's perfect for fall and feels like you should be eating it while curled up in a blanket with a fire in the fireplace, watching football.

Grades:

Megan - A (I wasn't sure about this one because I've made other beer cheese soups that were so good, I didn't know if this one could live up to them.  But it did.  In a big way.  So full of flavor and delicious for a cold night!)

Noelle - This soup was pretty spicy so there was no way Noelle was going to eat it.  More for us!

November 13th

Paprika Makes It Perfect

This recipe doesn't have many ingredients, but it has lots of flavor.  I haven't really done too much cooking with paprika, but I will be now after tasting how delicious it made this dish!

Chicken Paprikash (Paprika) with Cucumber Salad

recipe from: Sandy Brubaker

All I can say is wow.  This chicken was so packed full of flavor and was so juicy and tender, I couldn't believe how easy it was to make such a great dish!  The only thing I did differently was that I used chicken breasts because that was what I had in the freezer and I used egg noodles instead of bow-tie noodles.  I'm sure using chicken thighs would make it even moister and juicier!
As for the salad...yum!  I remember my mom eating a salad similar to this when I was a kid and I thought it was absolutely disgusting (even though I probably didn't try it).  However, as an adult now, I am obsessed with this salad.  I love cucumbers and the dressing on it so vinegary (which I also love and refreshing.  I must confess, I made an whole recipe of it and ate the whole thing by myself. 

Ingredients for chicken:

1 frying chicken, cut in pieces (I also use chicken thighs)

1 pound onions

1 tablespoon sweet paprika and 1 tablespoon hot paprika  (You may want to use 
1 ½ sweet and ½ hot)

Water to cover

Chop onions finely and saute in a bit of canola oil.  Add both paprikas. Be careful not to burn.  
I keep a little water nearby to add when the paprika is browned.  

Add the chicken pieces and water to cover and salt to taste.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer til the chicken is done.

Serve with buttered bow tie noodles.

This was my grandmother’s recipe and she always served it with cucumber salad.

Cucumber Salad

Use small pickling cucumbers or 1 hot house cucumber peeled and sliced very thin.

Sprinkle with salt and let sit in a colander about 30 minutes.  Squeeze to remove as much 
of the water as possible.

Put in a bowl and add a bit of white or cider vinegar and sour cream.  I don’t have measurements.  
I just add sour cream and stir.  When the sauce becomes bubbly it’s ready.

I add a bit of pepper and salt if needed.

Grades:

Megan - A+ (I really enjoyed this and can't wait to make it again. I also foresee a lot 
of cucumber salad being made for lunches in the near future!

Noelle - A (I didn't attempt to get Noelle to eat the cucumber salad, but I did try 
the chicken (without the onions). I was nervous she was going to say it was too 
spicy, but much to my surprise, she said nothing of the sort and ate it all really quickly. 
As a matter of fact, she asked for more! Proof that I should always have her try things 
because sometimes she surprises me with what she likes!)

November 12th

Out Again

All these days of not cooking sure are nice for me!  Not so nice on the diet though!

Veggie Pizza
LouMalnati's
Oak Park, IL

Today we went to my cousin's for a housewarming party and then to see her choir concert.  It was great seeing their new house, visiting with family, and hearing the beautiful concert.  And the pizza was delicious too!

Grades:

Megan - A (Lou Malnati's Never dissapoints.)

Noelle - A (Noelle loves pizza so she was pretty happy with this dinner.)

November 11th

Out and About

Two nights out!?  Wow, what a crazy social life we have...haha!  Tonight we went out to celebrate my step-mother-in-law's birthday.  It was a delicious Mexican fiesta!

Chile Relleno
Fajitas
Mokena, IL

This restaurant was kind of hidden away in a strip mall, but I'm glad we found it.  It was a typical Mexican restaurant with great food.  I'm kind of a chile relleno connoisseur since it's my favorite Mexican food and I would say these were good! 

Grades:

Megan - A (Chilles and cheese deep fried...I mean come on.  You can't go wrong with that.)

Noelle - A (Noelle loves mexican food and was pretty happy with her meal here.  She had a quesadilla and beans and rice and amazed us all by the amount she ate.)

November 10th

Raising Funds and Eating Well

We went to a fundraiser tonight for the Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation.  It was a great time and a great cause.  Pancreatic Cancer is so horribly devastating and this foundation does great work to help research and improve early detection.  Check out the foundation here if you're interested in learninf more or donating: http://www.rolfefoundation.org/
Before our big night out, we had dinner at a new restaurant in River North called Point and Feather.  We were both pretty excited because the restaurant is "dart themed" and we were hoping to be able to play.  Unfortunately though, there weren't any dartboards available while we were there, so we didn't get to compete against eachother, only eat.

Double Cheeseburger and Brussels Sprouts
Point and Feather
Chicago, IL

While we went hoping to play darts, we were not disappointed by the food.  The atmosphere is like a very upscale sports bar and the food is like fancified sports bar food.  I really liked the cheeseburger (it was HUGE - Doug and I split it and I still couldn't finish), but I really loved the brussels sprouts.  They were crispy, fried, and loaded with cheese.  Next time hopefully we'll be able to play some darts.

Grades:

Megan - A (I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant and loved the food. )

Noelle - Noelle was spending the night at a grandparent's house and was probably already tucked away in her bed by the time we were having dinner.

November 9th

A Little Pasta to Make You Happy

If you've been reading my blog, you know I've been trying to be extra healthy and have been pretty into my zucchini noodles lately.  But, tonight we feasted on real pasta.  And let me tell you...those Zoodles might be good, but they have nothing on real pasta.  There's something about a nice big bowl of hot pasta that just makes you feel warm, cozy, and happy.  A big bowl of Zoodles might be tasty and healthy, but it doesn't have quite the same effect.  So, make a little pasta tonight and get happy!

Mushroom Florentine Pasta
recipe from: https://shewearsmanyhats.com/mushroom-florentine-pasta-recipe/

Creamy, garlicky, cheesy, and full of delicious mushrooms and spinach.  This pasta will start a little party in your mouth.  It was so good and decadent tasting I had to go back for seconds.

Grades:

Megan - A (Yum!  Don't expect to eat only one serving of this one.)

Noelle - B+ (Noelle of course didn't want the spinach and she was quite worried about the mushrooms, but once she started eating it she seemed to really like it.  I didn't force her to have any spinach, but she did eat a few mushrooms in there.)