I was raised by women who were amazing cooks. First of all, my mom. We always had wholesome, filling dinners growing up and mom worked really hard. Of course there was the one night a week when dealing with three kids and a husband working away from home would just make her too tired, and so we'd have pizza. Mom makes amazing meatloaf, spaghetti, roast beef and pork, all kinds of great stuff. There was also my Grandma Flo (mom's mom). I will never, ever forget the sweet tartness of her lemon meringue pies. And my Grandma Helen (dad's mom) does fantastic cookies, beautiful turkeys and stuffings. And there's Peggy, a dear family friend who is more like an aunt than anything. Peggy is gifted. Her apple pies (often made from her own apple trees!) are to die for and were even featured in her local newspaper.
Growing up around all of this, I hoped that I'd pick something up, and I seem to have gotten lucky. I'm still learning, but I must be doing something right, because my soon-to-be mother in law asked me a couple weeks ago if I'd do the cooking in the evenings. It works out well for now, because Mick is busy working all day, and so is she. While I keep myself busy during the day (exercise and little chores, wedding planning, writing, etc) it just makes sense that I would do the cooking.
I always hate on cooking shows when people say "Oh, I don't follow recipes, I just cook by FEELING." I think it sounds so cheesy, but to be honest, I think that's how I cook. I get ideas from my favorite show of all time ever, Come Dine With Me, and from things my mom made growing up, and just from my imagination. Now, I know a lot of my friends who read this are either working or stay at home moms who have A LOT to do and can't really find the time to plan out a new menu for every night. That's why I thought I'd share some of the really simple but yummy dishes I've been making.
Stuffed Chicken Breast
This one is my favorite, and I keep adding on it. The first time I made it, I slit a pocket down the side of each chicken breast and stuffed it with little chunks of cheese (I prefer camembert or brie, but any soft, sticky cheese like these will do. I find that if you use a smoother cheese like cheddar or mozarella, that it runs out of the chicken breast while in the oven). Then I get a little block of chicken stock (Knorr works well) and put it in a small bowl and pour just a tad of boiling water over it. Let's say 1/4 cup- just enough to dissolve it. I then add some garlic salt and Italian seasoning to the mixture and mix it up. Then I place the chicken on some foil on a pan, drizzle the Knorr mixture over the top of each breast, making sure to stick some in the cheese pouch. I bake them at 400F for 20-30 minutes and they are realllly good and moist. The second time I made them I added a few little leafs of spinach into the pocket with the cheese. Next time I'm going to add sun dried tomatoes. Very yummy!
Shepherd's Pie
I guess technically it's Cottage Pie (Cottage Pie=ground beef, Shepherd's Pie=ground lamb). But either way, it's really easy and really good and filling. Fry about 1lb of lean ground beef in a skillet. Add pepper and any other seasonings you like to flavor your meat. Fry until cooked all the way through and drain off the fatty juices. You will also need mashed potatoes- instant work great, but home made are always better. It's up to you. Either way, prepare your mashed potatoes and get some peas and carrots to boil for a few minutes. Next, you layer it all up. Meat goes on the bottom of a large glass dish. I like to sprinkle some cheese over the meet- this isn't traditional in English cooking, but I find it helps the whole mixture to stick together. Next I layer in the carrots and peas, and finally the mashed potato. You can sprinkle some peas or add carrots to the top to make it pretty if you like. Put it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375F to melt the cheese and get it nice and gooey.
Asian Chicken
This one was kind of a mistake- I had planned to do it with salmon but the little shop around the corner was out so I resorted to chicken breast. Fill a glass dish with about half a bottle of soy sauce and place the chicken in it to marinate for as long as possible. A couple hours is okay, but I'd put the chicken in the dish and place it in the fridge first thing in the morning if I were you. Also, sprinkle some ground ginger on the breasts (of you can cut up fresh ginger root and toss it in the soy sauce, if you like) Next- carrots. Slice about 4 carrots really thin and put them in another dish with as much soy sauce as you think necessary. Sprinkle more ground ginger in. Stir the carrots a few times. They only need about 2 hours in the marinade as they absorb the soy sauce much more quickly. When the chicken is done marinating, place each breast on a separate sheet of tin foil large enough to wrap the breast in. Place a serving of the carrots on top of the chicken and make a pouch out of the foil. Wrap it all up and place the breasts on a baking tray. Bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes. Unwrap and serve. I served this with rice.
No Sauce Sausage Pasta
This is a great light pasta option. It's not heavy with sauce, very yummy! Slice 4 herb (or spicy, if you're so inclined) sausages into circles and place in a pan to cook in olive oil. Throw in sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, and plenty of basil. I also like to throw in a yellow or orange pepper for color and flavor. Fry it all up until the sausage is cooked through. Boil up your favorite pasta and serve the sausage mixture over it with some olive oil. Voila!
Try some of these out and let me know how they work for you. I'll be sure to share more. Tonight is mushroom and sprout stir fry with noodles and diced steak!
Today I ordered the party favors. Mick and I did our Intent to Marry thing on Tuesday. We took the train to Crawley, the closest registered office (because I'm a furrrrnerrr we had to go to a special kind of office to do it all). I thought we'd just sign some papers and they'd post them on the wall, but in fact it was a bit more official than that. The lady greeted us and took our documents (Mick’s passport and a letter from his bank just to show the address he lives at is the same as mine, my passport containing my visa, and a letter from Mick’s mom saying I’ve lived with them for over a month and one from Mick, too) and went into her office. Then she called me back into her office and talked to me while Mick stayed in the waiting room. She quizzed me on my own information- full name, date of birth, occupation. Then the same stuff about Mick. Then she dismissed me and called Mick in to do the same. Then I was allowed in. We signed the papers, and were excused. She will post the paperwork to us after it has been visibily posted in the office for 16 days. Once everyone is sufficiently satisfied that we’re not previously married, related, or sworn to celibacy (hehe) we can get married. And, just so you know, we are none of those things.
We found a wedding photographer for a really decent price. We will be meeting up with her in a couple weeks when we are back in Kent. Woot!
The rabbit’s run came yesterday. We set it up in the grass and let them run around for a couple hours. They were exhausted when we brought them back in. They were literally just running around in circles and jumping all over the place. We wanted to let them out again today, but it’s been dreary and rainy all day. Hopefully we can let them out tomorrow and I will take pictures.
Okay, that’s all for now. Hope everyone is well!
