CEIMB: Curried Chicken Salad

The recipe this week was super easy to make -- which you all know makes me very happy! I had this for both lunch and dinner on Tuesday and thought it was great. Lunch was on a bed of mixed greens per the recipe and dinner was a chicken salad sandwich.

I ended up using curry paste instead of curry powder. I have only made a couple of dishes with curry powder and I just did not like the way either turned out. I'm curious to see if anyone else had this dilemma and what they decided to use. I'm guessing the powder would have been a milder flavor than the curry paste???

I liked how the chicken salad turned out though so no regrets! ...and I loved that there was hardly any mayo in this chicken salad!

Thanks to Sarah for a great, easy pick this week! It is definitely a fun, interesting way to jazz up chicken salad!

Wish list Wednesday

What I am wishing for this Wednesday:



* Some art for the new kitchen. I think this print would be fabulous. A tribute to my dear black cats AND my love of cupcakes!

* a Dreamcakes cupcake. stat.


* some yummy tailgating food at a Superbowl party on Sunday


* for the un-hung crown molding sitting in the office to magically cut and hang itself in the kitchen, dining room, master and bathroom!



Is it just me or will this week never end! I am so looking forward to a relaxing weekend! Happy Wednesday y'all!

CEIMB: Emerald Stir Fry with Beef

I have pictures to post from this week's recipe but not with me -- so that will be a separate post. The recipe this week was chosen by Alyssa of Alyssa's Two Bites. I was really excited about this recipe because I love me some stir fry! I thought the combination of vegetables was going to be interesting and very different from the usual onions, carrots, green peppers, and broccoli that I normally put in stir fry. I followed the recipe as written with the only change being the addition of some red pepper flakes and garlic to the beef while cooking and adding some Siracha to the sauce.

However, I hate to say that I was very disappointed with the results of this recipe. I thought overall it was very bland and lacked a lot of the richness stir fry usually has. In fact, I made a container of leftovers to eat for lunch yesterday and they are still sitting in the fridge. I opted for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich over the leftovers. Not a good sign.

I think this recipe has a lot of potential it just needs some major tweaking!

CEIMB: Arugula, carmelized onion, chicken, roasted red pepper and feta pizza

So, I had quite a few additions to the recipe this week. I wanted to make the pizza hearty enough to have for dinner and since I am back to "running" I needed something more than arugula and onions. So, I added grilled chicken, garlic, and roasted red peppers. Plus, I used gyro wheat pita bread for the crust instead of just a wheat tortilla. Oh, and I substituted feta cheese for the goat cheese. Result -- I thought the pizza was fabulous. Although it took a little while to get all of the toppings prepared, the pizza turned out very well. I served the pizza with an arugula and tomato salad dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. So yummy! I will definitely be making this pizza again. Thanks Maria for a great pick this week!

CEIMB: Crab Cakes w/ Tarter Sauce

I was hesitant about making this recipe because I have mixed feelings about crab cakes. Sometimes I love them -- sometimes I hate them. But in the spirit of the holidays I decided to give them a go (since I didn't have the excuse of not being able to find crab meat!)

I thought these crab cakes turned out great! I made the tarter sauce substituting Wickles for the pickles and I left out the capers. If you have never tried Wickles you should order some. They are sweet/ spicy pickles and are delish! Plus, I added a bit of lemon juice and some fresh dill to the tarter sauce. I will definitely be making these crab cakes again. Thanks to Bella Baker for choosing the recipe this week.

On a side note - yesterday was almost the perfect mail day. What, you don't know what a perfect mail day is! Well its a day when you get nothing in the mail other than Christmas cards! See, I am slightly obsessed with Christmas cards. I wish I was creative enough to come up with a cute picture for the Christmas cards. Last year, some people got cards of the cats in their Christmas outfits. However, I was afraid that the cat Christmas card was possibly crossing into crazy cat lady territory. So, this year I went back to holiday themed cards. Anyways, I digress. Yesterday I got 6 Christmas cards and 1 piece of junk mail in the mail. See -- almost the perfect mail day.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Kitchen Picture post (sorry it took so long!)

OK, so I know I promised pictures of my new kitchen forever ago, but I have been impatiently waiting for my cabinet folks (who shall go unnamed) to finish some of the cabinetry. Yes, it took them over three weeks, but who's counting anyways.

So, here are some before pictures (I know, it was hideous!)

Wait for it........

Here is the after. There are still little things that need finished but the big stuff is done! Yay for a "new" kitchen! I also have lots of in process pictures, but those are for another post.

Enjoy!

CEIMB: Maple Mustard Chicken

The recipe this week was chosen by Tessa of Handle The Heat. Instead of using chicken thighs I used whole bone in breasts to keep the chicken moist. Then for serving, I cut the chicken off the bone. I thought the chicken turned out well and flavorful.

However, I violated one of my cooking cardinal rules and bought the chicken at walmart -- something I normally refuse to do. It was late last night and cold and I really didn't have the energy to stop at the grocery store after fighting the ridiculous lines at walmart! And they. were. ridiculous!

Nonetheless, the chicken was pretty good and I will definitely make this recipe again. Thanks for a great pick! (Ignore the messy plate, it was 8:30 and I was ready for dinner!)

Happy Holidays to all. May your family have a safe and happy holiday and a prosperous new year! (Oh, and the cats weren't cooperating for their christmas picture by the tree!)