Life's Many Distractions

I'm back...I think.  I've been distracted.  Distracted by moving across several states, from New York to Georgia. Distracted by Chickens.  Distracted by job searching.  Distracted by laziness. 

You want to meet my chickens, The Originals? 

This is Bob, formally known as Barbie (aka BBQ).

Bob here was supposed to be a hen.  But he started crowing and hens don't crow.

So Bob had to leave; he was sent to a farm with 8 other hens.  Bob is probably in rooster heaven.  And see the two golden chickens (Tori - Chicken Cacciatore, and Sally - Chicken Salad) in the background?  They were supposed to be hens too.  But guess what?  After Bob left, they started crowing.  And you know what happens to a crowing hen?

They get sent to a farm, where they can crow there little hearts out.  And believe me they do, and it's not just in the morning, it's all day long.  

See the black chicken in the middle?  That's Stewie (Chicken Stew).  The only chick with a boy name turned out to be the only hen, go figure.  Stewie is the only "Original" one left in our little flock.  We added two more chickens, The Crispys and went back for 4 more, The Extra Crispys.  I'll introduce them later.

Pasta Salad

Remember this post?

You can use the same dressing, substitute the capers for roasted red peppers and make an amazing pasta salad. Now this, I took to the picnic. And I didn't take home much leftovers.

What you'll need:

1 box bow tie pasta

1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley

1 medium red onion

3 slices roasted red pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup oil

1 cup apple vinegar 

How you do it:

Boil the pasta according to the directions on the box. Then run the noodles under cool water. Chop the onion, pepper and parsley and mix with the pasta. Mix vinegar, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl; after they are well mixed, add the oil and stir well. Pour the dressing over the pasta and onions. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Um, so this was so good and I was in such a hurry...that I didn't take a picture of the final product. Woops! It's above, under tinfoil, in the white bowl.

Potato Salad

I almost made this dish for my picnic, but I was too lazy to boil the potatoes. And it was already too hot in my kitchen.
But the great thing about potato salad is that you can make it the night before. It's actually better. The vinegar and oil have time to really soak into the potatoes and red onions.

It was so good, it's all I ate for lunch...

What you"ll need:

1 pound small potatoes

1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley

1 tablespoon capers

1 medium red onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup oil

1 cup apple vinegar

How you do it:

Boil the potatoes until soft, but not too soft. Drain them and run under cool water. Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Chop the onion and parsley and mix with the potatoes. Mix vinegar, salt, pepper and capers together in a small bowl; after they are well mixed, add the oil and stir well. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and onions. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Bruchetta on Pizza

Did you make this chicken? If not, you should. And then you should put the leftovers on a pizza. It was truly amazing!

What you'll need:

Leftover Bruchetta Chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

Fresh Mozzarella

Fresh Bruchetta

Pizza Dough

2 Garlic cloves, minced

How you'll do it:

I used the Pillsbury pizza dough, so I followed the directions on the can. I placed it on an ungreased cookie sheet, added slices of fresh mozzarella and the garlic. I then cooked it, as the instructions said, for about 13 minutes. I then added the leftover bruchetta chicken and the fresh bruchetta and cooked it for another 5 minutes.

I then cut it and ate it.

A Picnic in the City

New York may lack green space, but we don't lack picnics. My roommates and I have had two in the last two weeks. The weather here has been pretty good during the weekends. The rain has finally stopped. At least, for the moment.

The thing about picnics, is that there is always something going on besides what's happening with your friends. There are people playing catch, frisbee, and all sorts of lawn games.

And in New York, we didn't experience ants. We got pigeons, lots and lots of pigeons.

And we had all sorts of food. It ranged from Jell-O shots, to pasta salad to different types of humus and red velvet cake. It was truly a New York experience.

And of course, there are the people. The people make the party.

But don't forget about the pigeons. They won't let you forget!
I'll be sharing some recipes from this picnic with you over the course of the week.
It'll be fun! I promise!

Did I Say I Liked Bruschetta?

Um, I mentioned in my last post that I'm in love with bruschetta, right?

Well, this dish helped solidify that love.

It was so good, so very good.  My roommate had to ask me to stop talking about it.

Golly, it was good!

And it was easy. And it warmed up really well. And it's something you should make right now.

What you'll need*:

4 thin chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup shredded parmesan or mozzarella

salt and pepper to taste

bruschetta

How you do it:

Preheat the oven to 375. 

Put the flour, bread crumbs and egg into separate bowls. Season each chicken breast with the salt and pepper.  Dip each breast into the flour, then the egg and then into the bread crumbs. I placed them on a tinfoil lined pan, for easy cleaning.  Add cheese to the top of the chicken breasts.  Cover pan in tinfoil and cook for 20 minutes.  Uncover and add the bruschetta. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.

 

Serve it up with a yummy salad and fresh bread!

*Recipe is adapted from The Taste of Home Cook Book

A Side for Everything!

I've decided that bruschetta is my spread of choice this summer.  I'm so in love with it, I want to put it on everything.

It's also pretty easy to make, so I can put it on everything.

What you'll need:

3 tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

1/2 tablespoon of fresh basil

How you do it:

Wash the tomatoes. Quarter them and scoop out seeds. Slice the tomatoes into bite sized pieces.  Mince the basil and garlic and combine with tomatoes.  Enjoy!

I took this yummy serving to a picnic.