Bread Machine Fail

This is what happens when you don't confirm that the paddle is securely attached to the bread machine pan before adding ingredients.  Talk about major lesson learned.  Our entire house smells like warm, fresh bread and we can't eat a bite of it!

Steak Salad and the Week

I cut open this avocado before dinner and it was too perfect to mash up for guacamole.  So instead I changed up our planned dinner and made a big dinner salad with sliced BBQ steak (leftover from the night before - love Costco and buying a pack of steak with one steak too many - just for this reason!), chunks of avocado, slices of red onion, fresh cracked pepper, Gorgonzola crumbles and a vinaigrette by Briannas (my favorite brand of salad dressings) served over mixed greens.  I put a little too much Gorgonzola on my salad (which is almost impossible for me), but it still turned out great and was a nice change of pace for dinner.

Whats your favorite dinner salad - whether planned or last minute?

I've mentioned this before, but I typically try to plan our weeks worth of dinners each Sunday.  I have an ongoing grocery list posted on the fridge, and all week we add staples we need or write down dinner ideas for the following week.  On Sundays I go to the store and stock up, trying to avoid needing another trip to the store for the rest of the week.  I used to go to the store at least three times a week until two months ago when I made this change. 

To make my once weekly trip to the store more beneficial, I quickly sift through the Sunday newspaper coupons.  I clip ones I could use that day and will save some that I may be able to use for the near future (an upcoming holiday, baby shower, etc).  I am in no way a coupon freak, but I don't understand why I wouldn't use them if a coupon is good for an item we're always buying.  As a side... I have almost saved as much as I have spent at QFC in the past five months (you can see your accrued saving at the bottom of their receipts...).  Yes, this means I buy a lot of store brands, but I'm also using coupons for name brand products.

An example week for us - this week:

Monday - BBQ'd ribs, corn (on sale so bought for today/tomorrow) and blueberry crumble (leftover ribs for Charlotte/my Tuesday lunch)

Tuesday - steak dinner, corn, rice (3 big steaks from costco, eating only 2 between the four of us)

Wednesday - steak salad (using 1 leftover steak), bread toasted in oven with some butter/seasonings

Thursday - homemade pizza with sausage, carmelized red onions and basil, side of green salad (leftovers for my lunch on Friday).  Trying out a new pizza dough found in the freezer section, made by Essential Baking!

Friday - Tony & Jodi out with friends for dinner - but BBQ'd chicken, steamed broccoli and rice for the kids (buy one package of chicken breasts, get another package free. Use remaining package for Saturday dinner) 

Saturday - pretzel coated chicken with dipping sauce, corn, green salad (leftover chicken for Sunday lunch?)  I'll have the pretzel recipe on the website once we've tried it out!  Stay tuned!

Paint and Onions

With the project of painting the office with both latex and oil based paints, our home has become overwhelmed with fumes.  Everything stinks like oil paint, especially because the door is off the office for painting. 

Opening a few windows can help reduce the smell but the temperatures are too low outside and the oil paint won't dry properly.  So after a few Google searches we (my mom) discovered that putting a dish of chopped onion in the room with paint fumes will help rid the smell.  I couldn't decide what would be worse... paint fumes or onion fumes,  but figured it was worth a shot.

12 hours later, the smell of paint inside our home is close to absent.  There is a slight onion scent, but I'd rather smell that than headache giving oil fumes.  I've now gone through 2 whole onions and our house is close to normal again.

There were two different methods I read for onions and paint smell. 
1. Chop an onion in half and placing in a dish with shallow water. 
2. The other was chopping an onion in to a bunch of pieces and placing in a dish. 

I chose to chop the onion and add some water to dish... Figured combinging the two methods couldn't hurt.  The key is to have a large amount of raw onion exposed and to switch it out when it begins to dry out.

Give it a try the next time you paint inside!

Easy Peasy

Some days call for a very easy and basic dinner.  Tonight I sliced some previously bbq'd chicken breasts (I usually cook four breasts for use throughout the week), and layered with lettuce, avocado, and bacon.  We couldn't resist making tater tots as a side.

I highly recommend making a bunch of chicken in advance for use that week.  You can cook it on the stovetop or on the bbq. Store in an airtight container or plastic bag.  Slice it up and add to a salad, make a wrap with some shredded lettuce, cheese and dressing of your choice (caesar or ranch...or our fave, Dorothy Lynch), make tacos, soup, sandwiches... The options are endless and really cuts down on your cooking for dinner, or lunch.

Cutting Chiles

I learned a great tip from one of my favorite websites, Cooks Illustrated.  If you plan to cut a hot pepper, dip your fingers in oil and only touch the pepper with those fingers.  (Don't put oil on the hand you'll be cutting with!)

Once done cutting up chiles, wash your hands with soap and water.  This trick will help eliminate any of the sting sticking to your fingers/hand and potentially transferring to your eyes or mouth!  Love tips like this!

Kitchen Tip

To make nice chocolate shavings, use white or milk chocolate.  They are softer in texture and curl better than other types of chocolate.