If I May by Lady of the House

* Photo by Jack & Lulu *

I'm usually kept caged until Wednesdays when I'm let out to post and play here, but when I read Erin's post yesterday morning I couldn't stop myself from sharing a few recipe box finds. I don't own a recipe box, so I wondered, what's out there? I've divided my results into some silly, if not non-existent stereotypes. (Do you have a kitchen alter ego?) Now it's just a matter of choosing which one!

-For the folksy type that picks wild flowers...

-For the little ones--it's never too early to start collecting I suppose...

-For the utilitarian with a cheeky side...

-For the preppy minimalist...

-For the zen master...

Ok, back to my cage!

xoxo

Lady of the House

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

Chicken Chimichangas are a staple at our house. I've been making these for years, and the recipe has morphed several times. This latest iteration has been around for about a year, and I finally took the time to write down the recipe.

Only this time, the husband had a request. "Can you add more cheese to mine? Like, a lot of cheese." And I obliged.

I made half the recipe husband-style (insanely cheesy, on the left in the photo below) and the rest old school (moderately cheesy.) Feel free to pick your poison.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas
Serves: 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2.5 teaspoons chili powder (or to taste)
3 cups cooked, shredded (or cubed) chicken (I used chicken breasts from a rotisserie chicken.)
1/2 cup chicken broth (or water, if you don't have chicken broth on hand)
8 flour tortillas
1-2 cups shredded cheese (monterey jack, cheddar, or pepper jack are our favorites)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Salsa, sour cream, and guacamole, for serving

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and saute for 8 minutes until it's softened and golden brown. Add garlic, cumin, and chili powder and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds until the spices are fragrant.

Stir in chicken and broth (or water.) Turn the heat up to medium high and bring to a boil. Allow liquid to simmer for about 5 minutes, until mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat.

Divide the chicken mixture evenly among tortillas. Top chicken mixture with cheese. (If you want your chimichangas husband style, really load it up with cheese.)

Tightly roll up tortillas and place them into a 9x13 baking dish. Brush the tops of the tortillas with melted butter. (If you're going for husband style, load even more shredded cheese on top of the chimichangas at this point.) Bake in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until the tortillas are golden brown and crispy.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

Soft Boiled Eggs

As you may have gathered, I'm the primary cook in our home. The husband, however, has several specialties. He is the ultimate grill-master, for one. (His lime cilantro marinade is proof of that.) He is also the breakfast expert in our family. His pancakes are light, fluffy, and delicious. Waffles? They're sublime. And eggs are his bailiwick.

Today's recipe is a family tradition for the husband. These are the eggs his grandma made for him when he was a little boy. It took him many, many Saturdays to perfect her recipe, which he developed himself. They don't look overly swanky, but you won't notice when you're shoveling buttery toast dripping with rich egg yolks into your mouth.

So, without further ado, the husband cooks...

Soft Boiled Eggs
Serves: 1

3 eggs, preferably room temperature
2 slices bread
Butter (lots)
Salt and pepper (lots)

Bring a pretty full pan of water to a boil. Add eggs, cover, and turn off the heat. Let the eggs sit in the water for about 6 minutes until they are soft boiled. (If you have a little, red egg thermometer like the one pictured in our pan below, it will let you know when they're at this stage.) While you're waiting, toast the bread to your desired crunchiness. Using your implement of choice (we go with the pasta spoon), fish the eggs out of the hot water.

Rinse the eggs under cold water so they don't continue cooking. You want those yolks to stay runny and not set up all the way. 

Take a sharp knife and give each egg a swift whack right through the middle. The sunshine yellow yolk will reveal itself in all its glory. 

Use a spoon to scoop out the eggs and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. At this point, you could probably serve the eggs as is with toast on the side, but then it wouldn't be the husband's soft boiled eggs. Read on to learn the technique he learned from his grandma. 

Schmear lots of butter on your toast. 

Place the buttered sides of your toast together, forming a butter sandwich, and rip the break into bite-sized pieces. 

Pile the toast pieces on top of your soft boiled eggs. 

Stir it all together, and eat it as one delicious, yolky, buttery, mess. Remember your childhood days with grandma, and smile. 

All tuckered out.

Well, folks, this is a pretty pathetic post. I'm giving myself a day off from cooking because I'm tuckered out. The husband and I recently returned from a trip to Seattle to celebrate the wedding of his brother to his beautiful bride.

It was a fabulous wedding and a wonderful visit with family and friends, but there's a chance I didn't get enough sleep. The red-eye flight home didn't help. So, I'm cranky. Now I'm going to head to bed early in hopes of un-cranking myself. Wish me luck.

No, actually wish the husband luck. Poor fella has to deal with the whining.

Back with more good eats on Monday!

Pom Pom Tutorial

This past weekend I had the extreme pleasure of attending the wedding of dear friends in--of all places--Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I also had the extreme pleasure of responding to the bride's request for a "just married" sign for the back of their ridiculously beautiful '57 Porsche Speedster.

Beyond the sign's structure, I immediately thought of pom poms, and I thought it might be fun to share my method. It's quite simple, really.

Gather your materials. I chose four types of organza ribbon, while cream tulle served to provide the loft and bulk I needed. You'll likely need only scissors in addition to the ribbon and tulle. (I also bought three cowbells and a bunch of jingle bells to intersperse. The sound as they drove away was the epitome of celebration, but that's just my take!)

Begin by clutching the tulle in-hand, gathering from the center of the material. Be sure to pinch from the center as you go along, as this will give you the roundest and most symmetrical pom pom. Insert your ribbons at a ratio of four to five wrinkles of tulle per ribbon. There's no real formula--just what you think will look best.

Keep this up until your fist is full of ribbon and tulle. If you're about to drop it while you're trimming the tulle, your pom pom is well on its way to perfection.

Next grab a similarly colored pipe cleaner, and wrap it at the center of your folds. Quickly bind all your hard work with the pipe cleaner. Twist, twist.

Finally, fluff by pulling ONLY the tulle in opposite directions, taking care to work the circumference of the pom pom. Essentially, you're teasing the pom pom like you once did your bad, bad 80's bangs. (If you tug at the ribbons, they'll come loose. Leave them alone.)

If all goes well, things may look something like this... And as always, feel free to email with any questions. (hdhhlady@gmail.com)

xoxo,

{ Lady of the House }

California Chopped Salad

Some things are just meant to go together. Like fresh summer corn and tomatoes. That's why I use them in every single recipe I make lately. Don't judge.

I was chatting on the phone with my mom the day I was making this salad. She started chuckling and told me a story about her college roommate who made a similar salad. The roommate put corn chips on top of her version and called it "California Chopped Salad." Chips? On a salad? I couldn't pass that up. So, in honor of my mom's roommate, give today's recipe a try.

Want to take it from side dish to the main event? Add some black beans or a few slices of rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

California Chopped Salad
Serves: 4

Dressing
2 limes, juiced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (Use the good stuff.)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

Salad
3 ears corn on the cob, silks and husks removed
4 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
1 pint grape tomatoes
A handful or two of tortilla chips, crumbled

Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside. (If you don't feel like whisking, just shake everything together in a jar, like I did.)

Meanwhile, bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until it's cooled to the touch. Cut the corn off the cob and place in a large bowl. (See my post on Therese's Corn and Tomato Salad for pictures of this step.)

Add Romaine and tomatoes to the corn. Pour dressing over the top and toss to combine. Serve topped with tortilla chips.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars

I needed to make a "bar" dessert, and I was looking for something delicious, awesome, and easy. With those qualities in mind, I turned to a trusty cookbook, the 175th Anniversary Celebration Cookbook from Randall Memorial Baptist Church.

I happen to love church cookbooks. I read the names of the men and women who submitted each recipe and wonder what kind of folks they were. Or, if I happen to know them, I always have a happy memory to think back on. And, from my experience, church cookbooks have the market covered on delicious, awesome, and easy desserts. The first dessert I made when the husband and I moved to Milwaukee and were invited to a new friend's home was Honey Bun Cake. Thanks, Debbie Alcott for that one. Hurricane Oatmeal Cake? That gem can be attributed to none other than my fabulous mom. Debby Brown's Death by Chocolate Trifle has come through on a number of occasions.

When I made today's recipe, I wasn't concerned. The bakers of Randall Memorial Baptist Church have had my back on a number of occasions. As I started making the bars, though, I got a bit nervous. It didn't feel right. The crust mixture seemed a bit dry. Was I missing something? And it didn't cook too long. Was it really done? I went to sleep with a feeling of unease as my bars finished cooling in the fridge.

When I woke up, the bars were the first thing on my mind. Did they look better? I peered under the foil. No. They still looked a little dry and crumbly. Nuts. Well, maybe I'd just cut them up. Doggone again! These suckers are tough to cut while they're cold, and I was already late for work. My nerves rising, I cut off a little sliver and popped it in my mouth for a taste test.

Ho-ly cow. I should have known the church cookbook would come through! These suckers were AWESOME! They looked dry, but it was a trick. They were delicious. The husband had a taste test, too, and he had the perfect description. "They taste like Oreo balls." And they do.

So, don't doubt the church cookbook. Just make these.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars
From: Dondra Decker in the 175th Anniversary Celebration Cookbook from Randall Memorial Baptist Church

1 18.5 ounce package fudge cake mix
2 eggs, divided
1/3 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry cake mix, 1 egg, and vegetable oil until crumbly.

Reserve 2 cups for topping. Pat remaining crumb mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat together cream cheese, sugar, and remaining 1 egg until light and smooth.

Stir in chocolate chips. Spread cream cheese mixture over baked crust and sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 15 minutes longer. Cool before cutting. Store in refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving.