Tasty Thursday - Chocolate

a little different take today - my favorite chocolate deserts! yum yum.  

caution: reading this may cause a serious, uncontrollable chocolate craving.

typically, round these parts, its low-fat chocolate pudding for us.  good weight management people.  and it gives us a chocolate fix. but when we indulge, we indulge big time.  here are a few of our favorites:

 

triple chocolate cake from the White Oak Bistro

ghirardelli brownies with a hershey's bar in the middle. (if you haven't tried this - you must. oh seriously you must.  you can put any of your favorite candy bars in the middle)

german chocolate chip pound cake. yumm yumm yumm.  my mom makes this.  i will get the recipe & do a tasty thursday dedicated just to this sometime. you won't be disappointed. 

chocolate peanut butter ice cream. love it.

chocolate pecan pie.  i will never turn this down.

your turn! what are your favorite chocolate loves?  post & share below!

Tasty Thursday - Cajun Chicken Pasta

Good morning lovelies!

My camera is in the shop this week. Yes, the one I just got for Christmas. The lens won't open. Totally bummed. But Canon says I will have it back in a week's time and it will work like new. So I could not take pictures on my cuisine this week. Another bummer!

I did make one of the Pioneer Woman's recipes on Monday and lucky for ya'll, she takes pictures and gives instruction! I made her Cajun Chicken Pasta and, hmmmmm, loved it! The only thing I modified was the heavy cream and the sauce. (Are ya'll seeing a trend here? no cream, no cheese, etc. Blame in on CAT.) Because the sauce won't really thicken up without the cream, I only used 1/2 cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup of milk, and 1/8 cup of wine. This was enough sauce to coat the noodles and give them a little flavor. And it passed CAT's test. He loved it as well!

Get the recipes and instructions here.

Up next week - Sauteed Scallops. yum.

Tasty Thursday - Lettuce Wraps

Get ready to cook because these lettuce wraps are seriously delicious. And seriously easy.  Cook 'em up for your honey for Valentine's Day this weekend - he'll (or she'll!) be super impressed!  The recipe is from my brother.

 

What you need:

2 to 3 pieces skinless boneless chicken

salt and pepper

1 zuchini

1 onion

1 bell pepper

1 tbsp olive oil or butter

rice, cooked

1 tbsp. paprika

red repper, if preferred

1/2 cup soy sauce

romaine lettuce

Here's how you do it:

 

Season chicken with salt & pepper and saute on medium heat until cooked mostly through, about 10 minutes.

  

 When the chicken is cooked mostly through, cut it up into small bite size pieces.

 

 While the chicken is cooking, dice up the onion....

 

 into small, bite size pieces.

Then dice up the bell pepper and the zuchini.

In a wok or large skillet, heat the olive oil (or butter) over medium high heat and add the onions.  

 

 When the onions get soft, add in the peppers 

and the zuchini.  Pour in the soy sauce gradually through this process so it has a chance to soak into the vegetables.

 

 When the vegetables start getting soft, add the chicken to the wok.  Add the remaining soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and paprika.  Stir and cook about 7-8 more minutes.

 

  To serve: spoon rice onto a piece of romaine lettuce and top with chicken & veggie mixture.  Fold the lettuce over the stuff and enjoy.

Enjoy the yummy goodness!

DIY Blog Love

 Here are some fabulous DIY links for Valentine's Day and beyond.  I include food because cooking is DIY too!

cutey love notes holder from Beyond the Kids 

Jersey Knit Ruffle Scarf from Sew Much Ado

Valentine's Ice Cream Sandwiches from Mint

Homemade Bread from Indie Fixx

DIY Unraveling a Letter from paper n stitch

Enjoy lovelies and happy crafting (or cooking)!

New news.....

I have some news.....I am doing my first Festival this year!  March 13th is the Emerald Isle St. Patrick's Day Festival and I will be an Arts Vendor!  This is very exciting, but I have a lot of work to do over the next month.  I have already ordered a banner for my tent and some calling cards.  I have to round up a tent, tables, linens, and product stands.  If you have any ideas, please post below!

I plan to have a selection of greeting cards, holiday cards, bags, clutches, zipper pouches, name signs, and possibly bibs and baby blankets.  And of course order forms for my personalized things.

Ya'll should come spend the weekend at the beach and attend the festival! There is drinking, music, shopping, kiddie carnival, and a little leprechaun contest.  Let's all hope for sunshine:)

Martini Paper Cut

I know I promised to tell you more about Scoutie's Girls 52 weeks of blogging your passion today, but I think we could all use a break on this dreary rainy day.  I'll be here tomorrow to fill you in on what I have been learning.  Until then, I leave you with this cheerful new paper cut design :

Handmade Craft Parties?!?

So, I have been thinking recently about hosting/sponsoring an in-home handmade craft party.   Think Mary Kay, Arbonne, Silpada, etc.  Expect all items would be handmade.  I would like to include artists from different techniques - such as paper goods and fabric(me), jewelry, clothing, art, and perhaps furniture.  

I would love to hear ya'lls thoughts, ideas, and suggestions on this topic!  Post any feedback below or email me at marian(at)perfectchancememories(dot)com.

Happy Saturday Lovelies!

Tasty Thursday - Spaghetti!

Spaghetti!! a favorite of everyone.  This is a variation of my mom's recipe (basically I just add more veggies). Here's how I do it:

Heat 1tbsp Olive Oil in a big soup pot.

Add 1 lb lean ground hamburger (or turkey!) and brown.

While the meat is browning, chop up one large onion.
 

And one large green pepper.  And about 3-4 gloves of garlic (or just use minced garlic)

 

And carrots! This is simply for getting in extra veggies.  The carrots add no flavor to this recipe.  I do not have picky veggie eaters around here, so I just chop 'em.  If you do have picky eaters, chop 'em up finer or puree them before adding to the sauce.

When the meat is mostly brown, add the onions to the pot and cook until just soft.

 

then add the peppers

and the carrots and the garlic and give it all a stir or two

add two large (28 oz) cans of diced tomatoes (use no salt added so that you can control the amount of sodium in the sauce) and one small can of tomato paste.  In the summer, I substitute as many fresh tomatoes as our garden has produced, but canned works just fine also!

looking good!

 

add some fresh ground black pepper, salt, oregano, and lots and lots of Italian Seasoning (close to 1/4 cup) Stir it all around and let it cook for a while.  It is ready to eat once it is heated up, but I think it tastes better if you let it cook for 3-4 hours (covered on low).  Taste it after about 30 minutes to make sure it has enough salt and Italian Seasoning.

Yummy, yummy!

Tasty Thursday - A Different Green Bean Casserole

Chance doesn't like traditional green bean casserole and I can't have the cream in it, so that left me searching for a tasty alternative over the holidays.  I got the basic recipe here at Food Network, and then modified it a little.  This also is a much healthier option to the traditional and is almost as good cold as it is hot.

First, you need to toast up some almonds in butter (and salt in you prefer, I don't use salt).   Toast as many as you'd like, they make a tasty snack!

 Next, heat about 1/2 cup of Olive over medium heat in a big skillet.  I found that 1/2 cup is a little too much for my liking, so I use just a tad less.  Put in some red chilies or red pepper flakes (however much heat you like!) and about 4-5 gloves minced or chopped garlic.  Cook until the garlic turns light brown, but don't burn it.

(Excuse the green bean, I forgot to take a picture of this step before I put in the beans.)  When the garlic is light brown, put in 1/2 cup red wine vinegar.  I increased this amount from the original recipe because I like the beans to be thoroughly coated with the vinegar.  Cook down for about 5 minutes or so.  Add one pound of green beans, fresh, frozen, or canned will work.  (If you use canned, make sure you drain them first!)

 Heat, stirring occasionally to coat the beans with the dressing.  When the beans are hot, add some fried onions.

Stir it all around and allow the onions to soak up some of the dressing.  Yum!  Now top with the toasted almonds and it's ready to serve!

Platter up and enjoy!

Tasty Thursday - Roasted Potatoes

Today marks my first of a new weekly series of what's cooking in my kitchen.  This week - roasted potatoes, an all time favorite of my husbands.  Anytime he goes to the store, I can be sure that he will come home with a bag of Yukon golds and a smile.   If you are a french fry addict, this makes a healthier and tastier substitution.

You can make these for as many or as few people as you need, the only time consuming part is chopping the potatoes.  I use Yukon golds because they are my husband's favorite, but you can certainly use any type of white potato.

First, wash as many potatoes as you are wanting to cook.  I usually cook 3 or 4 medium sized potatoes for two people.  While the potatoes are rinsing, grab a beer.

Or a glass of wine.  It helps pass the time while chopping all those potatoes.

Split potatoes in half lengthwise.

Cut thin slices in one direction.

Then turn 90 degrees and cut thin slices in the other direction.

Layer the slices on a cookie sheet, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Sprinkle the potatoes with a light coating of Olive Oil

and pepper.

Spice up your potatoes with paprika, adobo, cumin, and season salt.  Take it easy with the salt because adobo has a fair amount of salt in it.  You can always add salt before you eat them.

Bake it all at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes,  or until the potatoes are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.  Enjoy!