Poulet Roti { roast chicken with herb butter }

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“Poulet Roti – That’s Roast Chicken, numbnuts! And if you can’t properly roast a damn chicken then you are one helpless, hopeless, sorry-ass bivalve in an apron. Take that apron off, wrap it around your neck, and hang yourself. You do not deserve to wear the proud garment of the generations of hardworking, dedicated cooks. Turn in those clogs, too. – Anthony Bourdain

Now days it’s so easy to grab a roasted chicken at any local grocery store but for close to the same price to can do it yourself and it’s SO much better.  Most recipes and chefs will tell you to truss the chicken but if I am being honest, I never do and it works out just fine. Just be gentile when you are loosening the skin for the butter. You want that herbalicious goodness to soak into the meat.

Roasting a chicken is practically foolproof but if you are worried about your chicken being undercooked you can easily stick an instant-read meat thermometer in the fat part of the thigh. Now get cooking, because this is finger licken’ good.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley plus 3 large sprigs

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme plus 3 large sprigs

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary plus 3 small sprigs

pinch of course salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry

1 lemon, cut in half

Directions

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees

Mix butter, chopped herbs, and pinch of coarse salt in bowl; blend well.

Sprinkle main cavity of chicken with salt and pepper; fill with herb sprigs and lemon. Starting at neck end, slide fingers under skin of breast and upper part of legs, loosening skin. Spread herb butter under skin on breast and upper leg meat. Place chicken on rack in large roasting pan. Roast at 375 for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, crank up the heat to 450 degrees and cook for another 25 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Enjoy.

Smoked Salmon Salad

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Last week I had the most amazing salad at a local restaurant. It was just that good and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.

I decided to re-create it with the exception of one ingredient, dried sweet corn. I looked around to see if I could find some nearby but I was out of luck. { I did find some on Amazon }

The flavors compliment each other in ways I would have never imagined. I mean who would have thought to put dried cranberries and smoked salmon together? But it works so well.

Ingredients

Smoked salmon, sliced

Israeli couscous [I used whole wheat]

Dried cranberries

Pepitas

Roasted red peppers, chopped

Butter lettuce or green leaf lettuce, chopped

Combine all ingredients, as much or as little as you please.

For the dressing, I used a Jalapeno ranch then added a little chopped Italian parsley and lemon juice. Combine until smooth and drizzle over your salad, a little goes a long way.

Enjoy!

{Faux} Shepard’s Pie

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In lieu of St. Patrick’s day I thought I would make a Shepard’s pie. But if I am being honest, I am not Irish, my husband is not Irish and this recipe is not Irish. See this is a faux Shepard’s Pie.

The term Shepard’s pie should only be used when the dish is made with lamb or mutton. If it is made with any other meat it is known as cottage pie. I went back and forth on what meat to use and ultimately ended up going with beef { the husband is not a huge lamb fan}. I also forgo the potatoes and used mashed cauliflower as the topping, it was so good.

So if you want to try something different  for St. Patrick’s day { because corned beef and cabbage in not Ireland’s national dish, just saying } I suggest trying your hand at a  Shepard’s pie. Oh and don’t forget the pint of Guiness!

The meat part of this recipe is from Epicurious and the cauliflower topping is just thrown together but it’s easy.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

1 pound ground lamb or beef

1 cup beef or chicken broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

1 cup frozen peas

1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets

2 Tbs. Butter

1/2 cup Milk ( any fat contents

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil, then add the onion, carrot, and meat. Cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

Drain the fat and add the broth, tomato paste, and herbs. Simmer until the juices thicken, about 10 minutes, then add the peas.

Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish; set aside.

Meanwhile, bring the cauliflower florets s to a boil in salted water. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes; drain.

Mash the Cauliflower with the butter and milk. I like to use my food processor to “mash” them, it makes them super creamy.

Spread them over the meat mixture, then crosshatch the top with a fork.

Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com:80/recipes/food/views/Shepherds-Pie-240224#ixzz1pKpTobiQ

Glow Stick Fun

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A few years ago, right before I was put on bed rest I worked a Parents Night Out at my school. I had given the kiddos glow sticks to play with and they had a blast when we turned out the lights. Being able to run around a classroom at night, in the dark, proved to be a hit. At the end of the night one of the parents mentioned to me how they will put a bunch of  glow sticks in the bath tub and let their daughter take a ” glow in the dark” bath.

I was recently reminded of this fun activity thanks to Pinterest and then I saw some glow sticks at Target in the $1 section.

Kaili has been less than impressed with bath time lately so I thought I would give it a try. Only drawback is A. now with the time change, it’s still sunny at 6:00 p.m and B. we have a skylight in our bathroom so it wasn’t very dark but she didn’t mind. She had a blast. I was impressed that she didn’t try to chew on them, she had more fun using them as drumsticks. Her bath lasted almost 30 minutes, that is about 25 minutes longer than normal.

After her bath they still proved to be a hit. She stayed up a little later than normal and that is just fine with me.

Trying them out in the dark

MaMaMaMa

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It finally happened, Kaili said Mama. When we first heard it I thought it was just babble but when she said it again she was definitely trying to get my attention. I am so glad Shane was home to hear it. So there we have it, first word at 10 1/2 months.

Kaili also got a top tooth last week, that makes 3. I think we will have a few more arrive before the month is over, although she doesn’t want me to look in her mouth much anymore so it’s a guess what all is going on in there. This last tooths breakthrough didn’t seem to faze her at all, let’s hope the rest are pain-free too.

She is so close to standing on her own but seems a little skittish about it, I imagine that is normal. To make the transfer from the ottoman to the couch she wont try on her feet, she will get down on the ground and crawl to it, little chicken. <- Just joking.

My baby is growing up...fast!

Coconut Shrimp

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I love shrimp and I love coconut and when you combine the two, I really am a happy person.

The best Coconut shrimp I have ever had is at Coyote Grill in Laguna Beach. I have been there a lot of times and I always order the same thing, however if you go and it’s time for breakfast their Huevos Rancheros and French Toast are also very good. One time while I was dining on their amazing coconut shrimp with a friend of mine, we were introduced to the drummer of the Foo Fighters {Taylor Hawkins} although he was the drummer for Alanis Morissette at the time. Just sayin.

I have had this recipe “pinned” for awhile and the urge finally hit me to make it. I didn’t have to change a thing and I found the cooking time and temperature to be perfect. I love when that happens!

For the dipping sauce, I made my own. I had a jar of Papaya Orange Habenero Preserves in the fridge and I thought that would mix nicely with a Thai Chili Sauce, I was right. The Thai Chili sauce will work great alone if that is what you desire ore you can mix it with any flavor preserves.

Ingredients {Shrimp}

1 lb (24) large shrimp, peeled and deviened (weight after peeled)

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp panko crumbs

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 large egg

pinch salt

non-stick spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine coconut flakes, panko crumbs and salt in a bowl. Place the flour on a small dish. Whisk egg in another bowl.

Lightly  season the shrimp with salt.  Dredge the shrimp in the flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then in the coconut crumb mixture.

Place shrimp on the cookie sheet then spray the top of the shrimp with more cooking spray; Place sheet in the middle rack for about 10 minutes. Turn shrimp over then cook another 6-7 minutes or until cooked though. Remove from oven and serve with dipping sauce.


How Do You Know?

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Tell me this, how do you know if you are ready to  have baby #2?

It’s not like Shane and I can get pregnant the old-fashioned way but we do have 9 potential babies on ice at the fertility clinic.

It’s been almost a year now since we brought Kaili Sloan home and I couldn’t love a person more, but my pregnancy was very hard and if you asked  me to do it all over again  { I mean really? after all that I still couldn’t have an easy delivery?} I would definitely hesitate before saying “of course”, I know that sounds horrible! I don’t regret her for a moment and I would  go through it all again but if I knew then what I know now, I would have questions.

When we started the fertility treatments we assumed we would have more that one child, otherwise there is no reason to “pay rent” to store our embryos.  Shane and I talk about it but my answer was always “seriously? After what I just went through? Ask me in a year.” Well, here we are almost a year later and I feel the same way I did a year ago. Now I say “ask me in another year or two.” However we aren’t getting any younger, so we sort of want to know what way we are leaning. But how do you decide? How will I know that I am ready to put myself through all of that again?

Let’s put health aside, say I had a perfect pregnancy and delivery { like my fantasy birth plan} but say we like the ease of one child. I mean it’s so much easier to continue “doing” things with just one. Once we bring a #2 into the world our reality really changes and I got to say it’s pretty nice right now.  So I guess my question is, how do you make the decision of having another child? And what do you do if you regret the decision you make?

Television

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Can we talk about TV for a moment? What are you watching? What is that show you can’t live without? There are so many good shows on and good shows starting and good shows that just ended, oh how sad I am that Top Chef is over.

I am a reality TV show junky, it’s my vice, I admit it. I love Top Chef, Survivor, Amazing Race, and I probably shouldn’t admit the rest but there are a few more . I also  can not go without Dexter, True Blood, Homeland , Boardwalk Empire and Shameless. Holy shit that is a lot of shows. But we can’t  forget about Grey’s Anatomy and Ringer, oh and the ones that I record to watch when I get a free chance, Modern Family and….well you know what I mean. I also secretly hope that they will bring back the best show ever, Alias. I guess it’s not a secret anymore.

I gave up watching a few shows because of the time they consumed in a week. You know, the music ones that sing one day, judge the next day and then a day later  finally vote someone off. Holy crap  I couldn’t take it anymore and let’s be honest, when have you heard the latest winner on the radio?  And well, I had to free up the DVR so I could record everything else. Priorities people…priorities.

So back to my original question, what are you watching?

Photos Day 1-6

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Here are the March photo challenge pictures for days 1-6. I have to laugh at my stupidity on day 4. The word was “bedside” but for some reason what I saw was “beside”. What the hell is wrong with me?

Day 1- Up
Day 2- Fruit
Day 3- Your Neighborhood
Day 4- Beside
Day 5- Smile
Day 6- 5:00 Pm

Grilled Middle Eastern Turkey Links {with horseradish feta cream}

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This is a Cat Cora recipe from the latest Parenting magazine. I am not sure if it was all the spices in the turkey or the horseradish feta cream that caught my eye but I knew this was something we all would eat and Kaili really enjoyed them. However I didn’t give her any of the horseradish cream because we only have the spicy prepared horseradish in our house and that might be a little too spicy.

Cora’s recipe calls for 2 slices of white bread but instead I used panko bread crumbs only for the fact that I don’t buy white bread and I had bread crumbs to use up. I also substituted greek yogurt for creme fraiche in the horseradish dip, again because that is what I had on hand.

They turned out good however I felt that the cumin was overpowering. When I make these again I will use less cumin and add more fresh herbs. I think mint would go nicely.

Ingredients {Turkey Links}

2 slices white sandwich bread torn into pea-size pieces.

1 lb. ground turkey

1 small red onion, minced

1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/2 tsp chili powder

2 Tbs sweet paprika

1 Tbs ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp coriander

1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cardomom

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp pepper.

Directions

Heat a grill pan over medium hight heat. In bowl, combine all ingredients. Divide into 8 equal portions and shape into a cylinder about 4 inches long by 1 inch wide. Lightly coat them with oil. Cook until the meat is firm and cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Serve with pita and condiment.

Ingredients {Horseradish Feta Cream}

In a blender mix 1/2 cup creme fraiche 11/2 Tbsp horseradish and 1/2 feta cheese at low speed for 3 minutes. Add 2 tsp lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Chill for 30 minutes prior to serving.