I was picking up some books at the library a couple of weeks ago and Gravity Is a Mystery
All posts by NerdMom
LionCon
This was posted in one of my Yahoo Groups. I thought that some of you might be interested! Go over and check it out!
Welcome to LionCon 2008!
Narniafans, Narniaweb, and The Lion’s Call are gathering Narnia and C.S. Lewis experts and fans from across the country for a weekend of fun in sunny Southern California.
Dates:
June 20-22, 2008
Location:
Biola University
La Mirada, CA
about 15 minutes from Disneyland
Price
Early Registration: $65 base price
Freezer Friday: Chicken Kiev
Welcome to Freezer Friday. The goal here is to make our lives easier. Due to the fact I have 4 little ones and homeschool, I need all the help I can find. Simply post a recipe that can be made, frozen and then later reheated(thawed, etc) and consumed. Make sure that you include freezing and reheating instructions in your post. Then come here and add you post (not your blog) into Mr. Linky.
Now for some disclaimers:
If it isn’t a recipe, I will delete it.
If it can’t be made ahead, I will delete it.
If you don’t have a family friendly site, I will delete it.
Now onto the food fun!
Chicken Kiev is one of those dishes that always sounds so complicated but in reality is very simple. This is even a dish you can cook in bulk and finish later. This week I made 24 of these. But first, some ingredients.
Software:
Chicken Breasts
Softened Margarine or butter mixed with Garlic or Garlic Powder
Egg
Milk
Bread Crumbs
Oil for browning
Hardware:
Cutting Board
Meat Tenderizer (Mallot)
2 bowls
Skillet
Baking Dish
Toothpicks
Spatula
Procedure:
First pound out some chicken breasts to make them even thickness. Then cut a pocket in the side and place a slice of garlic butter in it. Mix egg and milk together in one bowl. Then place bread crumbs in another bowl. Dredge the chicken breast in the milk/egg mixture and then the breadcrumbs. Transfer to heated skillet and brown on all sides. Then transfer to baking dish and cook in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
To make as a Freezer meal:
After browning allow the chicken breast to cool. Then freeze. I take them out frozen and cook them for 1 hour at 350 degrees or thawed they cook 30-45 minutes.
Enjoy!
Technorati Tags: chicken kiev, freezer friday, cooking
Project Runway: The Reunion
So did anyone watch the Project Runway reunion show last night? I think the thing that actually shocked me the most is when Tim Gunn asked if anything had been said that was really hurtful to any of them. Then Carmen Webber had said that things that had been said when she left had really hurt. Things like “I am just glad it wasn’t me” and “Even if she had finished it wouldn’t have been that good” that had been said by other competitors. Really? That was soooo unreasonable? For those of you who don’t remember it was the menswear challenge and everyone was afraid that they would be sent home. I guess I am shocked that her skin was so thin. When the judges were asked about the worst design and they alluded to her design that got her tossed she actually looked angry. The judges just mentioned it as one of the worst designs because she sent her model out with cloth around his neck instead of a shirt. She could have had a sense of humor about the whole challenge like others did but I guess that just isn’t part of her personality.
Oh, I found a great blog, Blogging Project Runway!
Top Chef is coming!
The new season of Top Chef is coming in March. Go check out the new cast. Who do you like based on their bio and who do you think will win?
Orzo and Asparagus
Here is an easy side dish. You can manipulate it to serve your tastes. Orzo pasta is the rice shaped pasta. If you don’t like lemon just leave it out. It serves to brighten the flavor of the asparagus.
Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter (not margarine)
2 tsp garlic
1 tbl fresh parley or 2 tsp dried
1 lb asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 lb orzo pasta
1 tsp lemon juice
Process:
Boil the pasta 5 minutes, then add the asparagus and boil together for 3 minutes. During this time, put the butter and garlic into a skillet. Saute the garlic and brown the butter (don’t burn). Then drain the pasta and asparagus and add to the butter mixture. Stir then add lemon juice and parsley. Stir and serve.
Technorati Tags: pasta, asparagus, cooking, orzo
Fray
I have one word for Joss Whedon….Tease! He goes and creates this great comic book and it is just an 8 chapter stand alone. Well, they made a Firefly movie based on the ground swell so maybe we can get him to write more of this great comic book.
So what is so great about this graphic novel? It is well written and extremely well developed for only 8 chapters. Moline and Owens created breath taking art that truly brings to life Melaka Fray, our newest vampire slayer. Now, while I am a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer you needn’t have previous slayer knowledge. According to the forward, that is why the plot is set so far in the future. Whedon does a great job of explaining what the slayer is without insulting existing Buffy fans and also not creating a separate, contradictory concept. I am a novice to the comic book world and I adored it. Whereas NerdDad is an old hand at comic books and he felt it was surprisingly good. This would be a great gift for a Joss Whedon fan!
PS This is not for young kids. If you wouldn’t let your kids watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, don’t let them read this.
Meal Plan Monday
Here is this week’s menu. Have a great 4 day week!
Monday: Baked Chicken, Asparagus Pasta
Tuesday: Chicken Kiev (Will be this week’s Freezer Friday recipe), Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
Wednesday:Pork Roast, Beer Bread, Broccoli
Thursday: Tilapia, Rice, Broccoli
Friday: Spaghetti, Broccoli
Rice Crispy Treats
I know that everyone has had these but they don’t put the recipe on the box anymore. So here is the basics and then I made some delicious variations.
Ingredients:
3 tbl butter
4 cups of mini-marshmallows or 1 package of big marshmallows
6 cups Rice Crispy cereal or derivative
Process:
Butter (or butter flavored no-stick spray) a 7 X 11 1/2 for nice thick squares. Melt the butter in a heavy pan and then melt marshmallows. As soon as they are almost smooth stop, otherwise you will have softness issues. Then dump in cereal and stir, stir, stir until fully mixed. Then dump into the dish. Take a sandwich bag and turn it inside out and spray lightly with no-stick spray. Then use it to push down the mixture. Let cool and eat!
Now the specials I added. I found chocolate marshmallows on Valentine’s clearance at Target (I didn’t know they existed) and used 1/2 plain cereal and 1/2 chocolate (it came in the box that way). Then I took icing in a can (also clearance) and was playing with the tips, thus the different patterns.
Why Girls Love Diamonds
Apparently Dr. Helen has found a book that explains why girls like diamonds. While it makes sense I still prefer computers (most of the time;).