Lots to catch up on!

Well, I definitely don't know where to start. It's been a whirlwind couple of months for us! We are happy that it is 2010 and we have barely any plans (so far!)

I have uploaded ALL of our pics from 2009 onto our SmugMug site. I'm going to be much better about this going forward, since it is our "backup" for all of our picture files!

**WARNING: I really ramble in this post...you may want to grab a snack**

The new house is starting to feel more like home...our new furniture came in after Christmas and we have begun organizing and arranging the rooms. Here is a little loving/not loving list about the new house!

Loving: SPACE! 3 "living" spaces, a playroom for Nate, a "spare" bedroom, etc....

Not loving: STAIRS! Our wonderful space is spread out over 3 levels. This means you NEVER go up or down a level without looking around to see if anything needs to be taken with you...unless, of course, you have the pleasure of carrying 24 lb. Nate up or down with you!

Loving: Fantastic kitchen with granite and double ovens!

Not loving: The sad dishwasher. It is much more picky about needing dishes to be pre-washed or you're stuck with yucky bits. It is also pretty small and will not accomodate all the dishes if you have a big cooking day. I'm also really missing a garbage disposal...but we hope to start composting in the spring, so that will make it seem worth the trouble.

Loving: The nice, wooded lot!

Not loving: The lack of a fence and use of Sammy's doggie door. Thankfully Sammy has been good about signaling that he needs to go out. But it is COLD!

No house is perfect, but we are really loving this one and hope to feel really settled soon! And I'll be working on a little photo tour.

Ok, on to some recipes. I was going to skip this this week, because it was such a disaster...but I guess I should share both my successes and my failures!

So, on Monday, I was starting the new year off right with my new cooking schedule- Monday-new recipe and dessert for the week

Tuesday-Mexican or Italian (rotate weeks)

Wednesday-Dinner at Church

Thursday-Leftovers

Friday-Date Night (dinner after Nate goes to bed)

Saturday-Big Breakfast (in the AM) then Chinese in the afternoon for lunch/dinner (we found a GREAT place near the new house)

Sunday-Crock Pot lunch/dinner

On Sunday nights I'll plan for the Monday/Tuesday meals and shop on Monday and then on Thursday I'll plan for the Fri/Sat/Sun meals and shop on Friday (since the sales are effective Thursday-Wednesday it's most effective for me to shop like this to get the deals and still have fresh food.)

This week sirloin steaks were on sale, so we planned to try Chicken Fried Steak from our Williams Sonoma Steak & Chop Cookbook and I picked out a Potato, Onion and Cheese Gratin recipe from my Junior League cookbook. In an effort to be more healthy (which sounds rediculous after just reading that we were having fried steak and cheesy potatoes, right?) we decided to serve all of our desserts in shot glasses, like many restaurants are doing right now...

I was all hyped up to make a great meal. I even took pictures! Here is the dessert of the week- Peanut Butter Cup Pie in shot glass form.

I used low fat cream cheese and light cool whip to be a little healthier also! Once the desserts were done I went on to arranging the gratin...which needed the use of my mandolin. I rarely drag this out, but it did a really nice job slicing the onions and potatoes.

Ok, on to the tragic part. I'm very bad at paying attention to timing on recipes. I had put together the gratin in the afternoon while Nate was napping, but didn't pay attention to the fact that it had to cook for nearly an hour. And the chicken fried steak had to sit in the batter for 30 minutes before cooking...anyway, it was a big mess and the steaks were done early and we were waiting on the potatoes to get done (past 6:00 which is unheard of in our house.) I gave the potatoes a taste and they were disgusting! So awful that I couldn't even pretend like I could eat them. I was so frustrated! I whipped up some instant mashed potatoes from the pantry and was ready to forget all about this meal!

Thankfully, I do have a good recipe to share. For "Mexican" night this week I made Creamy Chicken Enchiladas, which were wonderful! This recipe is from my Junior League's Cookbook-At Your Service

1 tb butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies, drained
8 oz cream cheese, chopped, softened (I used low-fat and it was fine)
3 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
16 oz shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
2 cups heavy cream (I used 1/2 and 1/2 to lighten it up a bit...you could also use picante sauce instead)

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the green chilies. Saute for 1 minute. Stir in the cream cheese and chicken. Cook until cream cheese melts, stirring constantly. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with Monterrey Jack cheese. Drizzle with the heavy cream. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Thanks for sticking with me and reading through my tumultuous experience! Cooking really is trial and error...which is rather frustrating for us Type A's!