Baby got skillzz!

This a short, but SWEET blog today.

How many of us love making Brownies from a box? My personal favorite is Ghiradelli's Dark Chocolate (thanks to my friend, Ann Marie). But, I've always wanted to TRY to make brownies from scratch. Well, today was that day.. mmhmmmm...

No need to say more...

Appeasing a 12 year old food critic.

You may think this is not blog worthy, but Hey! It's my blog.

If you have the pickiest person eating 4 helpings of the meal, you know you did a good job! For all you Foodies out there, you know what I'm talking about. There's always one person at your table that's hard to please, whatever you make. Tuesday night I made "African Peanut Butter Stew" for my Small Group (bible study group). I have quite a challenge in making a dish everyone would eat. Some have lactose issues, others with Gluten issues, and someone that just doesn't like much that it would probably take her mom to force feed her to eat anything! (I got permission from her mom to write it, not force feed). Looking at the ingredients, I asked my group last week if they'd try it if I made it. I got some yes's and maybes, so I decided to try it.

It was GOOOD. Made some changes so everyone could eat it, and got pretty good reviews from them. Even I went back for seconds! My finicky eater took a small helping at first, but then went back for a bigger helping, and then another! Marion and I were pretty wide-eyed, while she was eating her fourth helping.

The recipe makes for 2 servings, and you have to double or triple the ingredients to fit the size of pot you use. I have a 6 quart Dutch Oven, so it's to make 6 servings in that size pot. I have 11 ladies in my group, and the "6 servings" fed all of them, and for extra helpings. It's like a bottomless pot. It was finally empty when everyone was full! If you ever buy this cookbook, remember they're BIG servings.

Nobody tasted the peanut butter or coconut milk (my change in the recipe). Or even the Shallots (for the onion hater)! :). There was also Cayenne pepper in it, and gave it enough kick. I definitely need to make this one again.

My Dutch Oven Adventures

This might sound like a Spin-off from Julie & Julia, but it isn't. Honest.

I bought a Dutch Oven last year, hoping to make some kind of meals in it. I had it in my head that I could use it for "all-in-one" pot/pan. fry in it, bake in it, cook in it, etc. I didn't know what I really bought. It looked easy to use when I saw Alton Brown using his.(Silly me) Instead, it only collected dust on the stove (our cabinets were to small to store it). I'm still determined to use it somehow. When I come home from work I REALLY don't have the motivation to cook any dinner either. I would just look at my kitchen, and then go back out for fast food instead. My waistline has been seeing the results of that.

Well, recently I moved into a new apartment, with plans for my Small Group to meet here as well. That gave me an idea to finally use my Dutch Oven WEEKLY. I went to the bookstore and found a cookbook specifically made for Dutch Oven cooking (and it's not a campers cookbook). Once a week, I can make one of these One-Pot meal sensations, and serve it to my group. Pretty good idea, if I say so myself. Also, I could actually make one of these meals on my day off, divide them into portions, and have it last me a week so all I have to do is microwave one of the containers once I get home from work. I think I'm on a roll, but let's see if I can actually pull this off.

1st Dish: Bahama Chicken

Each dish has your meat, veggies, and some kind of starch for a balanced meal so you don't have to make any additional mess, just one pot. However, she neglected to mention the mess you'll make just preparing the ingredients. So far, I made 2 dishes for the group, and they were both a hit. One is Bahamian Chicken, but I call it just Bahama Chicken. When I looked at the liquid on the directions, I was kind of..skeptical of how it would taste, and if maybe I should call my girls to bring their dinner in case this became a flop. In the end, everyone liked it. I had only enough left to take w/ me to work the next day. So far so good.

Bite of Seattle

If you want to know what kind of restaurants are in Seattle, and where, this is the best place to sample their food. Bite of Seattle is a culmination of restaurants throughout Seattle area in rows of tents, selling samples of their menu for a weekend. It was like going to Del Mar Fair, and walking through rows of food vendors. I went with my friend Vicky on Sunday. There was one vendor that was selling "Elephant Ears." I never heard of it, but it tasted like flattened Flunnel Cake, covered with Cinnamon sugar. Good and fattening. They had 4-5 stages with live local bands. I wish I had pictures, but I forgot my camera. Out of all the times I've been sightseeing, I forget my camera now. I think it's the heat. Anyways, I'll post later with more scenic pix of Seattle. I have a little over one month to go in Seattle before leaving for Denver, CO. So, I have a lot to see crammed into this last month.

Talk to you soon.
Leona