1 small onion, chopped

1/2 pepper, chopped

4 small Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 c. tomato sauce

1/4 c. water

1 cooked chicken breast, chopped

1/4 c. tub-style cream cheese

Splash or two of 10% cream

1 T. curry powder or an Indian spice blend

Brown onion and pepper. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and water.  Bring to a simmer on medium low.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Stir in cream cheese (the “twist”) and chicken.  Continue to heat until the cream cheese is fully incorporated into the tomato mixture.  Remove from heat, add the curry powder/Indian spice blend and splash or two of cream.  Serve with rice. Naan bread would also be good. Serves 2 – 3.

(Cross posted from my other blog FibroDAZE):

In March, 2011 with the demolition of our existing kitchen, we embarked on a renovation journey that took far, far longer than anticipated. Perhaps we were naive of timelines; however the mistakes made by the big-box home renovation retailer (whom shall remain nameless) added many, many weeks to this project. Nonetheless, here we are some 9 months later, and our new kitchen is nearly born!

We took our kitchen from this, a typical 80′s kitchen:

It’s difficult to tell from the pictures, but the counter-top was quite damaged, the cupboards – particularly on the inside – had many areas of damage, the flooring was ripped, and, as you can tell by the extra shelving unit (one of three), there was not enough storage.

With the help of a kitchen designer, we created extra storage and counter-top square footage by deciding to enclose the cut-out you see in the second photo and move the fridge over.  We opened up the space by taking out the peninsula.  We gained additional counter top space  by  an over-the-range microwave (we found a used one.) We added and relocated electrical sockets. A far more functional kitchen, with plenty of storage, began to take shape. As we did not relocate the sink or stove, we suffered no great loss of use  during the renovation.

This renovation was not without its’ challenges however, mealtime wasn’t one of them: with the use of a meal assembly service – where you make freezer meals on location, bag them, and bring home to cook later – we did not have to eat every meal out.

We have friends who are electricians, cabinet installers and a couple of extremely knowledgeable handymen, which kept our costs down.  Doing this project as inexpensively as we did would not have been possible without their help.

Here are some pictures of our  nearly finished kitchen.

I love the faucet and sink we picked out.  The sprayer on the faucet works great. If I’m making pasta, to fill the large pot with water, I can  set a large pot on the counter and pull the sprayer arm over to fill it. I then slide the full pot over to the stove.

We chose quartz for our countertop. Low maintenance (no yearly sealing required), easy to clean, stain and scratch resistant, and antibacterial.  The only caution is not placing something hot directly on to it.  Thus, I place a hot pad under our small appliances (such as our slow cooker) when using same on the counter.

I hope you’ve enjoyed your tour.

Design magazines, our kitchen is ready for it’s close up!

1 bunch spinach

Seeds of one pomegranate

1/4 c. toasted pine nuts or pecans

1/2 c. crumbled feta

Dressing
1/3 c. olive oil

1 T. red wine vinegar

2 T. maple syrup

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp oregano

salt and pepper

Rinse and spin dry the lettuce and spinach. Rip or chop and place into a large bowl. Toast nuts in a non-stick pan on medium low until they brown. Add to the bowl of greens along with the feta and pomegranate seeds. Combine dressing ingredients in covered jar or container, shake well.  Serve dressing on the side or pour onto the salad.

Serves about 10

Tips and Notes:  Buy a package of the pomegranate arils (the little seeds). Getting the arils out of the pomegranate is a major pain in the butt.  I’ve used packaged baby spinach and romaine in place of the head of romaine and bunch of spinach. I’ve also walnuts in place of the pecans or pine nuts.

2 T. oil

4 small carrots, diced

1 large potato, diced

1 fish filet (I used sole)

1 can salmon, drained and bones picked out

1 c. frozen corn

2 c. milk

1 T. dried dill and 2 T. Old Bay Seasoning

salt and pepper

Place potatoes and carrots in microwave-safe dish and microwave in a bit of water until a bit tender.  Brown onion in skillet until soft, then add fish filet and cook for a few minutes more.   Drain potatoes and carrots.  Combine potatoes, carrots, onion, fish fillet and salmon in a medium pot with milk and spices and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring so that the milk doesn’t burn.   Stir in frozen corn and heat through.  The chowder may be thickened at this point with 1/4 c. flour dissolved in water and stirred in.   Makes 4 – 6 servings. Great with crusty bread or buns.

Adapted from:  http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2008/02/11/day-42-creamy-mushroom-soup/

1 small package sliced fresh mushrooms

1 – 2 T. oil

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 T. each dried rosemary and cilantro

1 T. flour

3 c. chicken or vegetable stock

Splash of red wine

1/2 c. whipping cream, sour cream or half and half

Brown mushrooms and onions until moisture evaporates and mushrooms turn golden. Add flour, cook two minutes. Add spices, stock and wine and simmer on low 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in cream (I used sour cream.) Serves 4 – 6

3 small ham slices, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 c. green pepper, chopped

1, 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 c. rice

2 c. water

1/2 c. chili sauce

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp. pepper

Brown beef, onion and pepper in skillet. Add cooked ham, tomatoes, rice, chili sauce, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer 25-30 minutes until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.  6 servings  Time saving tip: Buy frozen diced onions.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,700 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

48 – 50 dried apricots
2/3 c. wafers for chocolate making

Melt chocolate in the microwave on medium in microwave-safe bowl. Stir. Coat approximately 1/2 of each apricot in chocolate. (Sample a couple along the way — quality control is important.) Place on baking sheets covered with wax paper to set. Store in a pretty covered container.

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 c. dry lentils
1 28 oz. can tomatoes
1 can green chilies
1 each onion and pepper, chopped
1 T. dried cilantro
2 – 3 T. Club House Tex Mex Seasoning

Tip: Buy pre-cooked chicken breasts (or use leftover chicken or turkey) and pre-chopped onions and peppers

Cook the chicken breasts in advance – I did it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes. While that is cooking, cut the vegetables (if not using pre-chopped ones) and brown them a bit. Add the lentils, chilies, tomatoes and spices and cook until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

When the chicken breasts are cooled, cut them into chunks and add to the chili. Heat through. Serves about 6.

Festive Spinach Salad

Spinach salad leaves

A sprinkling of chopped pecans and dried cranberries

Feta Cheese, chopped

Place in a bowl and drizzle with your favorite dressing (I used about 1 T. of strawberry fig balsamic vinegar and 3 T. olive oil, shaken together.)  Serves one.