Monday, December 1, 2008

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I teach in a large public high school. Did you know that, Dear Reader? I teach high school science. I eat lunch in the faculty room every day. A couple of weeks ago, my friend, Marti, brought chips and buffalo chicken dip in for the lunch crowd to share.

The dip was so good that I ate an embarrassing amount. Then, when she asked if anyone wanted the leftovers to take with them, I didn't even wait to see if someone else did before saying, “OH! I DO!” It was that good.

After some kidding, Marti told me that she doesn't use recipes. She told me how she makes her dip, and I made that into a recipe. I'm going to give it to you with no harassment at all, because I'm kind like that.

Marti's Buffalo Wing Dip

Ingredients:

  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 1 "small" bottle of ranch dressing (Hidden Valley is my favorite, but you can use whatever brand you prefer)
  • ½ cup Ken's Red Hot Sauce (add more or less, to taste)
  • 1 or 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

  1. Cook 3 chicken breasts in whatever method you prefer. Marti boiled hers. I bake mine in a stoneware roaster in the microwave. Shred the chicken with a fork. In a pinch, you could even use canned chicken. I would not be as flavorful, but it would be very easy.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the shredded chicken breasts with ranch dressing, Red Hot Sauce, and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Mix well.
  3. Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 350 or microwave until heated through.
  4. Serve hot with pita chips, crackers, or those neat little tortilla scoops.
  5. Try not to eat the entire recipe at once or you'll feel like a glutton.
    Not that I would know or anything, I'm just saying.
I'm happy to submit this post for Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday, and Kitchen Tips Tuesday

Sunday, November 30, 2008

The ghost of Thanksgiving past

Joe's car broke down on Friday, and he decided to try to fix it himself. Despite his many strengths and the fact that he worked in apartment maintenance for six years, my husband is not a handy bloke. He just isn't.

While he was working on his car outside, in the drizzly rain, Grace and I baked pies for our Sunday dinner. Truthfully, though, Grace pretended to feed her Baby and played with her magnetic farm while I baked two pies. Since she didn't seem to want to chat, I had plenty of time to reflect on this year's Thanksgiving celebration and the ones of the past.

Reflection always makes me laugh. Despite the fact that I'm inspiring so many of you Dear Readers to attempt great things in your homes, I am prone to ridiculously funny failures in my own. As I dealt with another mishap prepared and baked pies, I pondered my most ridiculous Thanksgiving bloopers.

Too much food - The very first time we hosted Thanksgiving, I over planned and over cooked. Everyone told me that I was making too much food, but I was worried that someone wouldn't have enough to eat. I forced poor Joe to peel and mash 10 pounds of potatoes. For 8 people. We had a 24.5 pound turkey, 3 pies, a cake, 3 sweet potato dishes, a huge salad, 3 different steamed vegetables, and a bunch of other stuff. I don't know what I was thinking. I could have fed 40 people with the spread I prepared. Except that no one liked half of it, which leads me to my next issue.

Being adventurous - There is a time and place for being adventurous in the kitchen. In fact, Joe and I try at least one unfamiliar recipe every week. However, I have learned (the hard way) that Thanksgiving is not the time to experiment with fancy new dishes. That 10 pounds of mashed potatoes I made Joe make? No one liked them. The recipe called for onions, which sounded like a good idea. We added them to the already cooked potatoes, however, and never actually cooked the onions, so we served hot mashed potatoes with raw onion chunks in them. Fail. We ended up throwing out 8 pounds of freezer burnt mashed potatoes the following May. That same year, there was also a 9x13 pan full of a fancy sweet potato and mushroom gratin that no one liked. I think those leftovers rotted in the back of our fridge. I could go on, but I won't. You get the picture. Every Thanksgiving since, I've stuck to tried and true recipes that I know everyone loves.

The creature - Imagine my surprise when I sat down on the couch in my living room and saw a mole eating out of the cat's dish. On Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving. The first time that my future in-laws would ever see my home. I thought words that aren't fit to write here, and then I called Joe away from whatever he was doing (probably peeling those ten pounds of potatoes!) and told him that he had to take care of it. Egads! He would never admit it, but I think he's afraid of rodents. His attempt to help ended up chasing the creature under our television cabinet, where it stayed until we went to bed. I woke up on Thanksgiving morning knowing that there was a rodent in my living room, and that one of our guests might to see it.

Splenda experiment - Remember what I said above about experiments? I have a tendency to be a slow learner. One Thanksgiving, I was on a diet. I decided to put all of my guests on a diet, too, and I substituted Splenda for sugar in all of my recipes. I might have gotten away with this one, except that none of my pies set up. Have you ever eaten soupy pecan pie? It's just not the same. Fail.

Oven mitts - I set my nice, thick, heavy Pampered Chef oven mits on the stove after pulling a dish out of the oven, and I turned a pan on to boil water for something else. A few minutes later, I noticed that my oven mitts were on fire. I'd turned on the wrong burner and filled my house with smoke right before my guests arrived to eat.

The air freshner - I got a fancy, expensive, cranberry-scented air freshner for my living room one Thanksgiving after my dad complained about smelling the cat box. It was the kind with scented oil in a dish, suspended over a candle. I followed the instructions on the package, lit the candle, and returned to the kitchen. An hour later, when my guests started to arrive, we had to open all of the doors and windows because the scent of faux cranberries was so strong that it made everyones' eyes burn.

Double sugar in pie - Self explanatory, right? I've done this more than once because I try to accomplish too many tasks at a time.

Turkey still frozen - We left the turkey in the fridge for four days, but it was a big one, and it didn't thaw completely. When Joe attempted to remove the giblets and neck, he discovered that the inside of the bird was still a solid block of ice. This led to some hasty 5 a.m. cold water bathing for that turkey, and then we cooked it still partially frozen. I hope that's not a huge no no, because we did it. Fortunately, no one got food poisoning (and told us about it).

Turkey done too soon - This year, our turkey was done two hours too early. That was a trauma because we thought the whole thing was going to dry out and become shoe leather. Fortunately, a Twitter friend came to our rescue and told me to baste the turkey with its own juices every fifteen minutes until it was time to serve. We did. It was wonderful and juicy. But then, my mom carved the turkey and discovered that, while the breast was perfectly cooked, the bottom half of the turkey was not. It turns out that our oven's temperature varies wildly, from 300 to 450, all while the dial is still at 325. At least this one was not a total failure.

So, while I was dealing with today's blooper - trying to reform the partially cooked puddle of pie crust back into a recognizable pie shape - I laughed to myself about all of the things I've done wrong in the kitchen. Sometimes, it's a miracle that the food gets on the table, but my faux pas inspire me, and I know (because you've told me) that they inspire you. Keep those stories coming. I never get tired of them!

By the way, Joe's car is back in working condition. He might be a little handy after all.

Thanksgiving inspires me. What inspires you? See more inspiration at Maternal Spark
Happily submitted to Homemaking Monday, Miracle Monday, the Homesteading Carnival, Making a Happy Home Monday, Not Me Monday, and The Homemaker's Haven

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Things to write home about 11/30/08

This has been a busy week! With Thanksgiving happening and Gracie having a hard time teething, things have been hectic at our Home. At any rate, I've found a lot of gems on the internet this week. I tried to pare them down to 4 per category, but I just couldn't. Enjoy!

Homegrown: Advice on Parenting & Families

Home Cooking: Recipes & Kitchen Tips
Homemaking: Keeping Your House Running
Homespun: Crafts & Other Projects
Have you post something this week that was worth writing Home about? Send me the link, and maybe you'll see it here next Sunday!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Grandma D's Wreath & Tree Farm

My mother loves wreaths. For as long as I can remember, she's had a wreath on the front of her house for the entire winter. She usually has one of the front door, too, and several inside the house.

When Grandma D's Wreath and Tree Farm asked me to review one of their 24-inch wreaths, I agreed, knowing that I'd get my mom's advice and thoughts about the wreath.

She was not disappointed. My mom told me that she usually spends about $30 on a nice wreath, and that's what this one sells for.

She liked that the wreath was made from a variety of evergreen boughs including juniper and noble fir, and she liked the pine cones accents. She wasn't crazy about the little red bow, which she plans to switch with a nicer one. (Note - the bow that comes on the wreath is not the one shown in the picture on Grandma D's website.)

Wreaths from Grandma D's Wreath and Tree Farm are all made using noble fir boughs, juniper berries, and pine cones grown by the Rutherford family on their Silverton, Oregon farm. The land has been in their family for five generations, making this a true family business, currently run by a work-at-home-mom.

Grandma D's sells a variety of wreaths and centerpieces, and I'm sure they are all as nice as the one I received.

Ordering a wreath is easy. You can place your order any time and schedule delivery within the holiday season. UPS shipping is free within the US if you use the code W0834.

Grandma D's Wreath and Tree Farm also offers several different fund raising, wholesale, and corporate/volume programs. Visit the Grandma D's Wreath and Tree Farm website for more details.

Dear Reader! I am in a contest to see which Grandma D's review can get the most comments. Will you help me with that? Each comment must be at least 1 sentence long.

In addition to the reviewer contest, there is a Reader contest! By commenting on this post, you'll be entered in a drawing to win a prize pack valued at over $130! The prize pack includes clothes, books, playing cards, and more cool stuff!

You can enter the Reader contest by commenting below. To read more Grandma D's Wreath and Tree Farm reviews, you can visit the Blog Tour website.

Decorating with Evergreen Wreaths

Given the rich history and symbolism around wreaths, I'm going to start using them to decorate around the house. Of course, you can decorate your front door with a wreath. Here are a few more ideas:


I think this mantle is gorgeous.
Fresh wreaths don't like heat, though, so if you build a fire, move the wreath.
Photo courtesy of Glorious Gifts

Use your wreath as chandelier above your the table
Photo courtesy of Southern Living

Use your wreath to fill your mudroom with a fresh evergreen scent
Photo courtesy of Daily Danny


Use your wreath as part of a nativity display
Photo courtesy of Ruby Bayan at eHow

Use your wreath as the base of a centerpiece for your table

Symbolism of the Christmas Wreath

Do you know why we hang wreaths during the Christmas season, Dear Reader? I didn't, and so I went looking for more information.

Wreaths date back to the dinosaurs Romans, who used them to represent good health and life and to recognize royalty, the upper class, and athletic victors. Some early Europeans displayed evergreen wreaths in the hope that it would bring an earlier spring.

These days, people typically display wreaths only during the holiday season. Nothing says Christmas like the smell of a fresh evergreen wreath, right?

See my next post for a review of a very nice wreath I received from Grandma D's Wreath and Tree Farm
Christians often hang wreaths on their doors during the Christmas season to welcome guests into their homes and to represent their never-ending love for Jesus Christ. As the wreath has no beginning and no end, it is commonly used to symbolize our eternal God and everlasting life in his glory.

Evergreens are most often used for wreaths because they stay vibrant (faithful) even during the dark bleakness of winter. They're decorated with pine cones and other seeds to symbolize life and rebirth.

Some Christians display their wreaths flat on the table as an advent wreath, adorned with four or five candles, one for each week of the Advent. The lighting of the candles anticipates the arrival of The Light (the birth of Jesus Christ).

Ideas for using wreaths to decorate your home
My review of Grandma D's Wreath and Tree Farm

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Pomegranates

My mom bought a bunch of pomegranates recently, and she offered one to us, knowing that we like them. Joe peeled it and set the bowl down.

And here's what happened.