I'll be honest.....

....this man still makes me weak in the knees. There is not a day that goes by where I don't look at him and think, wow, he is absolutely gorgeous. And trust me, it's not just the way he looks, but what's on the inside. The neat thing about him is, and I have learned this over the years, especially as he gets older, he is one of the most loving, kind-hearted people I have ever known. It's not the kind of thing anyone would notice, you have to really, really know him to see it. We aren't perfect and don't have a picture-perfect marriage, but darn if we don't try, and sometimes on those days where we're not each other's biggest fans, something always brings us back together. I truly, truly couldn't imagine my life with anyone else.

This is one of MY favorite recipes. It is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe that I have been making for a few years now. I find that it is very kid-friendly too since Alston loves it. I just love the whole concept of dipping the tenders into a vinegarette instead of ketchup or something like that. I have tossed this, along with the vinegarette, with hot pasta or sliced the tenders up and put them in a salad. One thing I have learned is that organic chicken doesn't cook the same for some reason. The bread crumbs and parmesan don't stick as well, for lack of a better way to put it. I love the fact that this recipe calls for marinating the tenders in buttermilk. I think it is key. Using fresh Parmgiano-Reggiano is also very important. And I haven't tried this with whole wheat bread crumbs yet, but I'm thinking it would be fine. All you would have to do is toss in some dried parsley to make them "Italian style". When I serve this for Jeff and I, I put the vinegarette in two separate little ramekins so we will each have our own dipping dish. And honestly, Jeff is so tired of this recipe so I don't make it as often as I would like! If I had my choice, I would make this once a week. I do have a hard time making the garlic and salt into a paste sometimes, but I find it still tastes good. Oh, and I do buy one pack of the tenders and still use the full cup of buttermilk and all of the bread crumbs and parmesan. Any side dish works with this - pasta, rice, salad, you name it!

Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Tenders - Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (about 18)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over each of 2 heavy large lined baking sheets. Place the buttermilk in a large bowl. Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, mash the garlic with the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar and then the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with pepper. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small serving bowl.
Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a pie dish. Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk and dredge them in the bread crumb mixture to coat completely, pressing to adhere. Arrange the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the chicken tenders and bake until they are cooked through and golden brown, about 12 minutes.
Transfer the chicken tenders to a platter and serve the vinaigrette alongside for dipping.

New Chef

So after updating my blog Friday, it kind of inspired me to get cracking on some cooking. And I do know that I still have one reader (Hi, Amy!). I was watching Food Network Saturday morning (Alston was napping) and got inspired by this chic:


This is Claire Robinson, host of 5 Ingredient Fix. Anybody ever made any of her stuff? I really do like the idea of 5 ingredients and what she made on this episode seemed to fit my family's requirements: Jeff and Alston require meat, carb; mommy requires a vegetable. Alston didn't eat too much of this, which is weird, but I think she just wasn't hungry. Or maybe she is starting to show signs of pickiness. Who knows? Jeff declared this meal "good". That says a lot, however, because it is hit or miss with him. He is good about letting me know if he doesn't like something! He gets really tired of casseroles so I have to be creative since I am the chef in our house.

Here is the meal:


Turkey Robinson (Claire Robinson):
2 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil (couldn't find at Publix so I just used extra virgin)
1 pound ground turkey
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 (5-ounce) bag triple-washed spinach
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained (learned from Giada that it's best to rinse them as well)
Brown rice or pasta, for serving (recipe for the rice follows)

Heat the oil in a large skilled over moderately-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the ground turkey and using a wooden spoon, break up the clumps and cook until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add the stock and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring up t boil and then let simmer until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Stir in the spinach (yes, it will wilt down to a tiny portion) and cannellini beans and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over the rice.

In the process.....


Baked Shroom Rice (Clair Robinson):
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white rice
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Over moderately-high heat in an ovenproof saucepan, melt the butter until the foam subsides. Add the mushrooms and saute until golden grown, 4 to 5 minute. Add the garlic an stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice and stir constantly until the rice is coated and lightly toasted. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook on the middle rack in the oven until all the liquid absorbed and the rice is tender, 17 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

The slicing of the mushrooms....


Mushrooms and rice cooking....


The finished rice.....


The finished product. Rice is under the Turkey Robinson.


Does anybody use one of these?



I use it for making grilled sandwiches. It does a pretty good job. I do, however, wish I had a panini press, but this will definitely do in the meantime. I made Alston a grilled cheese for lunch today and she didn't eat it. What is up with this kid? Teeth, maybe. She begins transitioning into the toddler room this week at school and I'm actually pretty excited. Her best friend is in there and I'm hoping this gets her more mobile. I know I'm crazy for thinking that, but it is time.




Bedhead anyone? It looked like she had stood on her head in her crib and spun around. Just another day in the life of this priss!

Alston's Favorite Food

Since I post most all of my photos on Facebook, it got to where it was pointless to post any here because anybody who reads this is more than likely a Facebook friend of mine. So having said that, I decided maybe I can use the blog to showcase what little creativity I have in me. I cannot draw a stick man, I cannot sew a stitch, in fact, I don't think I iron correctly. BUT what I can do is cook. And I don't mean that as in I'm the next potential Food Network Star, no, I mean, I enjoy doing it, am willing to search high and low for a recipe and will try cooking anything. So I guess you can say I have the passion, but maybe not 100% of the talent. My mom does, however, and she can just make up a dish and it is always delicious. My biggest challenge these days is finding the time and energy to cook a full meal. I will gladly admit that Alston has had instant mac-n-cheese and green beans straight out of the can many times. She actually prefers green beans out of the can as opposed to say, fresh green beans with tomato sauce, garlic, sauteed shallots, fresh basil........but I digress.

Any of you who know me know that I am obsessed with this girl:

This is Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network star of Everyday Italian and Giada at Home. She is my all-time favorite and I LOVE her recipes. If I had to choose a celebrity to meet, it would more than likely be her. I will have much more to say about her in a later blog post.

When Alston first started eating table food at about nine months old, for some reason, I had made meat loaf that day and so I let her try it and she LOVED it. Meat loaf is part of my childhood, of course like most southerners, but the only kind I had had was the one with the ketchup-y sweet topping. I made it for Jeff soon after we got married, and if anyone knows Jeff, you know he is NOT a fan of sweet stuff mixed with savory. So here is how I changed it up.

Anyone know her?

Yeah, she rules. I use her Basic Meat Loaf recipe from her very first cookbook. I have changed the topping, however, so I will add that as well. The topping recipe is from the Winning Seasons cookbook from The Junior League of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It is the topping that actually goes with an Italian Meat Loaf recipe, but I only use the topping.

Basic Meat Loaf:
1 lb ground beef (I use ground sirloin because it is juicier)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt (I just use a sprinkling of Kosher salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion (the finer the chopped, the better, according to my husband)
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper (see above)
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice (I just use half of a 14 oz can that has the basil, garlic or whichever Italian herbs in it)
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

Topping:
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3 drops Tabasco sauce (or whichever hot sauce you have on hand)
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all meatloaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf. Bake loaf for 30 minutes, pour topping on and cook 30 minutes more.


I'm kind of obsessed with these ovens.


I mix the topping together in this glass measuring bowl. Since it has a spout, all I have to do is pull the oven rack out and pour the topping on.


I know meat loaf isn't the most photogenic dish, but the only reason I put this on here is for those of you who have had the old-school ketchup topping. Doesn't this look better? Okay, it may still photograph badly, but it really is good. It's on the menu at the McLane house at least twice a month!!!

Absence

No one probably reads this anymore, but I do have an update coming up!! To be continued.....oh, and no, it is not going to be pictures of Alston, which are already on Facebook.

Christmas, etc.

Christmas was so fun this year! Having a child around truly makes the day extra special. Then again, every day is special with her! We spent the night with Mom on Christmas Eve and drove back to B'ham Christmas Day to spend some time with the McLanes. Alston wasn't too interested in the presents but she loved the ribbons an wrapping paper. We got to see some of our favorite people, The Youngs, before Christmas. We don't get to see them enough! Here are a few pictures of Christmas. I have some more randoms to post later, but I'm running out of time!


She was totally comfortable in Will's arms.

This picture of Alston makes me laugh.

Whoops, Alston, you blinked.

Jane loves her cheese puffs!

Rainer crashing out on the floor.

Jane is clearly not in the mood for Rainer's affections.

Sweet Rainer sharing a candy cane with Alston.

I left the plastic on there since she's technically not supposed to have sugar yet. She still enjoyed the heck out of it. And no, I didn't let her have it for long so she didn't swallow any plastic.

Goofball.

At the farm.

I have no idea why she is trying to eat her boot.

This is her camera face.

Opening presents!

She has just now figured out that when my camera beeps she is supposed to smile. I took a ton of this pose because it was so funny watching her head snap in the direction of the camera.

Posing!

Thanksgiving

Alston had a big time on her first Thanksgiving! We started out the day heading to the McLanes' Thanksgiving at Jeff's grandma's house which is so close to our house so we didn't have far to drive. Alston flirted with everybody and enjoyed sitting in her Papa Jim's lap. She fell asleep there and we came home and started packing our bags for our trip to Aliceville. Mom decided to have the Alston Thanksgiving meal the next day at the farm. As always, we had full bellies! I gave Alston some of my mom's sweet potato casserole, which is unbelievable, and she spit it right out. Oh, well. Below are some photos of our day!

Talking to her CC.


Sitting on Papa Jim's lap.


Deep thought maybe?


Clowning around.


Talking to Ted's awesome dog, Chloe.

Our first Thanksgiving as a family of three.