One recipe, two options

Balsamic Garlic-and-Herb Chicken Thighs
Southern Living Annual Recipes 2005

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 skinned and boned chicken thighs I used about 4 and cut them into small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 (1.6-ounce) envelope garlic-and-herb sauce mix (Knorr's)
1/2 cup sliced green onions (about 4)
Hot cooked egg noodles

Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour mixture.

Brown half of chicken in 1 tablespoon hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from skillet. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and oil, reserving drippings in skillet.

Add wine and vinegar to skillet, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and green chiles and garlic-and-herb sauce mix until combined. Return chicken to skillet. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat 5 minutes or until done. Stir in 1/4 cup green onions. Serve over hot cooked egg noodles; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup green onions.
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All it took was going back to work one day and I seem to be settling into the same old routine. My appetite is back to normal too.

I made this recipe on Sunday for Monday evening. I decided to go back to posting the week's menu on the refrigerator (something I stopped doing at some point) and when I started writing 'balsamic', I stopped dead in my tracks. I had forgotten to add it! That was a dilemma because I thought it looked and tasted great without the balsamic. I decided to add it when I reheated it.

Then I almost forgot to add the green onion. I plated this before I realized that so I only threw some on top of my plate.

The tomatoes and chiles (Ro-Tel) add a lot of bite to this recipe. The vinegar added even more. It's not for the meek. I'm honestly not sure which way I preferred it, with or without the balsamic. It was really good both ways. If you aren't into balsamic, by all means, try this recipe without it.

I have to say this - my older son ate this and asked for more and he has been so picky lately. For whatever reason he was hot for this from the moment he smelled it cooking on Sunday. There were no leftovers. Of course, I only used about 4 thighs cut up (about one pouch from Costco). I'm trying to stretch our food budget out a bit.

Smart Taste makes egg noodles now! I've used the whole wheat ones but often they have a stale taste to them. I'm so happy to have another healthier alternative now. Although I don't see these listed on their site. Please tell me this product hasn't come and gone already.

I almost forgot that I will add this to my boneless, skinless chicken thigh recipe round-up.

Question of the Day: Is balsamic vinegar a staple in your house?

Where am I headed?

Hawaiian Sweet-Sour Ham
Better Homes and Gardens Casserole Cook Book Copyright 1968

2 cups cooked ham cut in julienne strips
1 tablespoon salad oil
1 8 ¾-ounce can (1 cup) pineapple tidbits I used chunks in juice, I cut the chunks in half
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate I left this out
3 to 4 teaspoons vinegar
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
¾ cup water
1 green pepper, cut into ½-inch squares
2 cups cooked rice

Brown ham in hot oil. Drain pineapple, reserving syrup. Mix brown sugar, cornstarch, monosodium glutamate, vinegar and mustard; stir in reserved syrup and water; add to skillet. Cook and stir till mixture thickens and bubbles. Cover; simmer 10 minutes.

Add pineapple tidbits and green pepper; simmer 3 to 5 minutes. Salt to taste. Serve with hot cooked rice.

Makes 4 servings
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My mother-in-law gave us a big chunk of ham at Christmas so I used some of it in this recipe. My appetite still wasn't back in full force when I made this. My husband scarfed it up so I can safely say it wasn't bad but I don't feel as if I was in a position to judge it fairly myself. I've made plenty of sweet and sour dishes and although this one didn't do much for me, it could very well have just been the timing.

I really crashed after Christmas this year. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing but I'm having trouble getting back into the groove, and I'm not so sure I want to get back in the same groove either. I certainly want to keep cooking and blogging but maybe not with the same intensity. Maybe I will start blogging about other things too. Maybe things will continue as they are. I haven't decided yet. In the meantime, I still have a few recipes from the past few weeks that I will catch you up on.

Question of the Day: Any changes planned in your life for this year?

Intensely chocolate

Rich and Dark Fudge Tassies
from the Ugly Binder, from the back of a Hershey's Special Dark Kisses package

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup Hershey’s Cocoa or Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa I used regular Hershey's Cocoa
½ teaspoon salt
Additional granulated sugar
Fudge Filling
60 Hershey’s Kisses Brand Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolates, unwrapped I used regular kisses
Fudge Filling:
½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa or Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa I used regular Hershey's Cocoa
¼ cup sugar
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Beat butter, 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Combine flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.
2. Shape dough into 60 balls (about 1-inch each); roll in granulated sugar. I forgot to do that. Press each ball onto bottom and up sides of ungreased small muffin cup (1 ¾-inch in diameter). If balls start to become too soft to press and mold easily, refrigerate several minutes; then continue.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare Fudge Filling. Evenly fill muffin cups with mixture. .
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownie cup is firm and filling is puffed slightly. Place sheet of wax paper under cooling rack. Cook in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Carefully remove each tassie from pan to cooling rack; sprinkle with powdered sugar. I didn't sprinkle. Place chocolate in center of each tassie. Cool completely.

Makes 60 tassies.

Fudge Filling: Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Stir in cocoa and sugar. Add sweetened condensed milk, cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.
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I'm always on the lookout for things to make in my mini-muffin pans. This recipe caught my eye and I loved it but I think I'd actually skip the kisses if I made these again. I thought they were a bit overkill. These were quite intensely chocolate even without using the dark cocoa and dark chocolate kisses.

I had some trouble getting some of them out of the pan. Most of them came out so I wouldn't blame the recipe. I think I made my tassies too big.

I can't get back into my normal rhythm. My appetite has been weird since I was sick. Well, I'm still sick. My sore throat and cough came back for an encore. I'm on vacation and I'm never on vacation the last week of the year. Everything is 'off'. I can't wait for things to get back to normal.

Question of the Day: Do you own a mini-muffin pan? How many?

Easing back into blogging

This Christmas went off about as smoothly as any. It wasn't perfect - I never got around to sending out any cards this year and I spent way too much money - but overall I'd rate it as one of the least stressful and one of the most satisfying and enjoyable Christmases that I can remember. Considering all the illnesses that ran through our household in December, that was a major accomplishment.

I almost didn't bake this year but in the end I pulled it off. I didn't put as much effort into it as I usually do. I decided just to make whatever I could reasonably make in that last week before Christmas. I had a clean slate this year. I didn't feel any pressure to make the same recipes I always make yet I wasn't intending to fiddle with new recipes. In the end I made a combination of old and new and everything went over really well this year.

Well, some recipes were 'sort of new'. I didn't have the time or energy to tackle my chocolate-covered caramels this year so instead, I made the caramel and I dipped pretzel rods in it, then covered them with chocolate and sprinkles. I also topped some Lorna Doones with the caramel and then dipped them in chocolate and sprinkles, making a Twix-like candy. I didn't even use a candy thermometer since I've made the recipe often enough to have a feel for what the caramel needed to look like. The topping and dipping was easier than letting the caramel set and cutting it (which always leaves me with blisters on my hands) and then dipping all those small caramels. I don't know if I'll every make them again since this was more fun and I can think of more things I'd like to dip in the caramel next year.

So there you go. After my little break you're only getting one non-recipe and one bad picture but at least I've dipped my toes back in the blogging pool.

Question of the Day: Did you have a nice holiday?

Update

Something had to give this holiday season and it seems that it was blogging. I did end up doing a bit of baking afterall so I'll have recipes to share with you next week when I can finally relax. That's if I manage to get pictures of everthing before it goes out the door.

Happy Holidays!