Saturday Blizzard!

One way to keep warm during a blizzard is to cook.  We had pancakes and waffles for breakfast.   I thought about making more cookies but we can't seem to eat the ones I've already made.  I decided to bake more bread to use up some of the sourdough starter that seems to be growing.  Let me know if you need some.  I hope it survives the two weeks at Christmas.

Decorating the Christmas tree is another way to keep warm.  I have to say...this year my tree is a disappointment.  I put on new lights and they have a funny color to them...LED white... they blind you so the ornaments sort of disappear.  I think I will be buying more lights for next year.  Not sure what I will do with these lights...I'll probably just keep the tree unlit this year.  I watched the HGTV celebrity Christmas decorating show and was inspired....to one day have a decorator do mine.  Somehow this year I really missed the boat on the decorations.  My tree just looks tired.  It may be time to invest in a new one, but not this year.

For lunch I made cheese quesodillas.

Cheese quesodilla and Mrs. Refros green salsa

I make the quesodilla on a griddle with raw tortillas from costco, but a skillet works too.

This is good on everything, if you like  it hot! Looks like you can buy it in bulk at Amazon.

Sourdough bread is baking.  I will wait for it to finish before I hit the hay.  Owen has an early hockey game (7:15am).  I have a lot of bread...if it's not too snowy I'll have to go to the store for more fondue cheese to eat up the bread.  It's time to start giving some of this stuff away.

Thursday...early dinner doesn't mean you can't have something delicious

Chicken Cordon Bleu with parmesan red potatoes and broccoli

I started cooking 15 minutes after I walked in the door.  I realized half way through the recipe that I needed wine for the sauce...grabbed a bottle sitting on the counter we received for a gift only to discover it was Italian Champagne.  Thought I'd better drink it before it goes flat, but no one to share the bottle with.  The boys are off to hockey and Anne has her Christmas program right after.  I hope the bubbly lasts until the end of the night so Sean can have some...

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 slices ham
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

This recipe's Ingredients were scaled to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 6 servings.

1. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

What to do on little time?

Come home late and not sure what to fix because one of the kids needs to be somewhere within the hour?  I turn to pasta drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.  I swear my kids could eat that every night. 

cooks up quick

They love Rigatoni but tonight it's wagon wheels!

San Pellegrino...compliments any meal.  

Sunday...a good day for baking.

Owen had two hockey games this morning.  He scored the winning goal in the first game and they tied the second game.  It was very exciting.

The Pfeffernuese dough has been sitting for well over a week and is ready to be baked.  I had baked a few men on Friday for the girls to decorate at the party.  They had fun.  I made a few more today.  I added some noses for something different.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with pfeffernuese; it's a hard small spicy cookie.  Good with coffee but be careful, they care addictive.  I made a double recipe which means I made thousands today.

Grandma use to keep them in Christmas tins but I don't have enough so I used a huge plastic bag.

She use to cut them out with a funnel.  Her mother in law cut hers out with a thimble...can you imagine?  I fashioned a tool out of an apple corer by melting away the sides so only the round part will cut.  I did this 13 years ago and I have to say it's held up well but I noticed a crack today.

After the pfeffernuese was baked, I made sourdough waffles.  I found this recipe (posted below), but it doesn't make enough.  Owen doesn't care for sourdough...not sure how that's possible if he's related to me so he only ate one.

So good with maple syrup.  I ate mine with raspberries, blueberries, and whipped cream.  A fun thing to do for dinner.

Sourdough Waffles

• 2 (or more) cups of starter
• 
1 Tbs. sugar

• 1 egg
• 
1/2 tsp salt
• 
2 Tbs. veg. oil

mix well, set aside.

From this batter, spoon out what you need for the waffle into a mixing bowl.

In a shot glass, mix 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and a small amount of water, stir to dissolve the soda. Then gently fold this into the mix. It will start to become light and airy. Pour onto waffle iron (or griddle for pancakes). These will be very light.Repeat the shot glass/soda mix for each waffle.

The soda controls the lightness. If very sour, use a tad more soda. If you use too much soda the waffles will taste somewhat bitter.

It’s great with pure maple syrup.