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Tuesday's Tidings for January 14, 2014

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1. Josh and I went into the Mac Store the other day to look at computers and I couldn't help but bring up my site and share it with the whole class. Is that cheating?


2. Downton Abbey Season 4: episode 2- (Disclaimer, if you have not seen the episode yet, read on)
OMG!!!!! WHY! Poor Anna and Stupid Edna and Silly Jimmy! I seriously was a ball of tears throughout the episode and it was a hard one to watch. I knew it was coming with Anna. Josh had heard about it awhile back so I had plenty of warning, but I think any scene like that no matter how it is filmed is just hard to watch. Actually, I usually turn my face away. I don't know about you guys, but Edna drives me batty! How dare she take advantage of Tom. HOW DARE SHE! Jimmy really needs to stop showing off our Mosley will just take his job for good. What are your thoughts peeps?

3. Ever wonder how the Amazon warehouse works? Watch this video- it is completely insane!

4. Believe it or not, we finally own the card game UNO! In the 10 years Josh and I have been married, we've never thought to buy it. My kids played it last week with my parents and Eden loved it, so I picked it up for them while we were grocery shopping yesterday. I think we have plans to play it on Monday.

5. Am I the only one tired of Justin Bieber? That kid, Oy!

6. One of my favorite things to do is go thrift shopping with this kid! He gives me random hugs and makes even the grumpiest of employees happy! And I finally got some white dessert plates and half off too! KA-CHING!

7. What's the weather like where you live? Here in Oregon, it's in the 50's with a mix of clouds and random bits of sun. I wish we had snow.

8. Golden Globes. I never watch them, but are you rooting for any of the nominees?

9. Valentine's Day is fast approaching. I'm not a red velvet kind of person. Are you? I was thinking about making something red velvet-ish soon. Thoughts?

10. Favorite comfort food craving-GO!

Weekly Menu 1/13-1/19

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The weekly menu is late! I apologize. Sunday, we did not get any of the grocery shopping done because I threw a birthday party for Josh. Yesterday, (Monday) I was so busy with school and grocery shopping, and then making dinner, that by the time the evening rolled around and the kids were in bed, all I wanted to do was relax with Josh. But then, our internet was down this morning because we've been having a lot of issues with it and Comcast was working on it. We've had a hard time with streaming movies and shows in the evening, so hopefully this has fixed all of that.


How was your weekend? Busy little bee's over here. I spent Saturday evening making Josh his cheesecake while he was trying to fix a sound problem at our church. I had the whole house to myself, so I blasted Pandora and danced all over the kitchen. It was awesome!

Monday
(Meatless)
Spinach, Artichoke, and Feta Pasta Shells with Corn
Tuesday
(Taco)
Wednesday
(Crockpot/Awana Night)
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches and Green Beans
Thursday
Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots and Rolls
Friday
Pizza Night
Saturday
Sunday
Fried Egg Sandwiches and Smoothies

Swiss Chicken Dinner

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Swiss Chicken Dinner | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #SwissThis past November, I went to my monthly cooking class. It was just the start of the holiday season and I was excited to see what we would be making and later eating. When we began the main entree, I knew right away that this dish was something I could not wait to make. And then I tasted it and I just about died. It was seriously so good!

I put it on my weekly menu for the following week and can you believe, between one thing or another, I never ended up making it until last week!

Swiss Chicken Dinner | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #Swiss

It was so worth the wait! I made it early in the morning, because you know, we're living in the clouds these days and the best time for foodie pics is during the morning/early afternoon. I wasn't to worried about how it would reheat because I remember Lisa saying while we were making it that, it made great leftovers and the leftovers from that cooking class, she was going to bring to a couple who had just had a baby in their church. (They didn't have the baby in the church, the couple, goes to the church.)

It literally just took a few minute to pull together and within an hour, it was done baking and my whole house smelled amazing! We reheated it later that evening in the oven and it was still beautiful and still delicious and Christian went nuts over it. In fact, we had just enough leftover for him to have another night for dinner.

This Swiss Chicken dinner, is easy and beautiful and a really pretty perfect entree to serve if your having company over. They will think you slaved over the meal for hours, when it probably took more like 10 minutes to prepare. If you don't believe me, go ahead and try it! Your family will devour this!Swiss Chicken Dinner | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #Swiss

Swiss Chicken Dinner | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #Swiss

Swiss Chicken Dinner

Yield: 8-10
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Cheesy, crunchy, moist perfect chicken! An elegant dish without all the work, but with all of the flavor.

Ingredients

  • 5 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into halves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 (15 oz) can cream of chicken soup
  • ½ cup sherry
  • 1 pkg (6 oz) Stovetop chicken stuffing
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ lb grated Swiss cheese

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in 9x13 baking dish.
  2. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  3. Spread grated swiss cheese over the chicken.
  4. In a medium sized bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup with the sherry and whisk until incorporated. Drizzle over the cheese.
  5. Place stuffing on top of the sauce and evenly pour the melted butter over all of the stuffing.
  6. Bake uncovered for one hour or until chicken is done.

Notes

Recipe by Lisa Pearson

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 319Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 514mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 26g

Nutrition information isn't always accurate.

© Catz in the Kitchen
Category: Entree

Crispy Breakfast Potatoes

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These potatoes are cooked three different ways. And tossed in butter. This is it, people. These ARE the crispy breakfast potatoes you're looking for.
breakfast potatoes

I have searched high and low (and low and high) for a very long time to try to find a good breakfast potatoes recipe. I've tried them with skins, without skins, boiled, baked, fried, sautéed, in butter, in oil, and even grilled! Many recipes were good; some were great. None were what I was looking for. I wanted that potato that is crispy on the outside, but soft and warm on the inside. While that sounds like it ought to be easy, my realization was that it was not.

See, if you cook them for long enough to make them soft inside, they generally end up mushy. If you sauté or fry them long enough to make them crispy, they generally end up burnt or hard. Too much oil, and they end up greasy. Not enough, and they end up dry. Now, I hesitate to paint this quest like some sort of modern day Holy Grail or Fountain of Youth (though it was beginning to feel that way for me), and I'm sure there are plenty of potato recipes out there that produce the types of results I was looking for, but the point remains...

I WASN'T FINDING ANY OF THEM.

Finally, on New Year's morning, I stumbled across this recipe by Melissa d'Arabian of The Food Network. D'Arabian is a favorite of ours, as I'm sure she is for many of you (her Black Bean Nacho Burgers are amazing). I was making Eggs Benedict, and these potatoes seemed like the perfect side. Plus, though I dare not have hoped it, I sensed there was a remote possibility these might turn out to have the elusive texture combination I'd been so fervently and diligently (okay, exaggeration) seeking.

THEY DID. MAKE THEM NOW.

crispy breakfast potatoes recipe

 

Crispy Breakfast Potatoes

Crispy Breakfast Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

These potatoes are cooked three different ways. And tossed in butter. This is it, people. These ARE the crispy breakfast potatoes you're looking for.

Ingredients

  • 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • Kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

  1. Cut potatoes into cubes.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  3. In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat (or medium heat, if you have a gas range). Add potatoes and season with Kosher salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Sauté, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes, then increase heat to high, stir in 3 tablespoon water, and cover.
  5. Steam the potatoes for 3-4 minutes, stirring once or twice, until water is evaporated.
  6. Lower heat back to medium, and sauté another 1-2 minutes, or until all traces of water are gone. If excess moisture remains after 2 minutes, you may drain potatoes using a colander.
  7. Toss in butter, and stir to coat.
  8. Spread potatoes out on a large baking sheet, and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until they are as browned as you want them to be.
  9. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with a bit of dried parsley if desired, and serve immediately.

Notes

Sourced from Melissa d'Arabian for The Food Network

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 315Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 170mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 4gSugar: 2gProtein: 5g
© Catz in the Kitchen
Category: Breakfast

Tuesday's Tidings for January 7, 2014

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1. My little funny man! He got me up super early toward the end of last week and was just as happy as he could be in the early morning hours. Even though he tends to not be the best sleeper, I really enjoy spending every moment with him. He is changing so fast!

2. The Downton Abbey season 4 premiere was Monday night! So good! I've heard that a lot of the fans are very disappointed with how the season went. My thoughts are that season 3 was such an explosive season with so many scandals and surprises and twists that we didn't really see coming that it would really hard for this next season to match up or even one up it, if that makes sense. I'm just content in watching it.


3. We went and saw The Hobbit (or as Grace calls it, The Demolition of Smaug) Saturday night and I really enjoyed it. Its hard for me to sit through really long movies in a theater with the screen far away (even if it is big) because I get tired and I get really bad headaches, which I started to get with this one sadly. But I really love that Legolas is back and I think the scene where he and Tauriel are fighting off the orcs down the river was my favorite. But if you haven't seen it yet, that's all I'm giving you.

4. One of the best things about being a stay at home mom is when you know that you aren't leaving the house, you can wear the same sweat pants and long-sleeve shirt two days in a row (assuming it's not dirty), today I am very guilty of wearing repeat clothing. #dontcare

5. I went to the semi-annual sale at Victoria's Secret over the weekend. I walked away with the sweat pants that I mention from above and cannot live without them, a cute zip hoodie, and a loose long sleeve olive green shirt. LOVE LOVE LOVE their clothes. Everything I always buy there is so comfy. I live in their sweats!

6. Fell IN LOVE with this cute coffee mug from the Disney Store. I'm honestly contemplating going back and buying it.

7. Not sure how many of you have a Burgerville where you live, but to be completely honest, it is the only fast food I really like. Their burgers are so so good! They have lowered their prices and I'm just super excited about it. Not that I eat there a lot, but I like the idea of saving a few pennies.

8. I watched this video today. It makes you think about what your missing out on.

9. We finally took down the Christmas lights and just like that Christmas is over. But I love Valentine's Day!!!!

10. I can't wait for Friday! My hubby is celebrating his 29th birthday!

Weekly Menu 1/6-1/12

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How is your Monday getting off? Mine...not exactly how I would of liked for it to go. Let's just say that Christian got me up sometime after Midnight and I didn't get to really go back to sleep till around 6am. Whomp Whomp!


I'm tired. It's times like this where I wish I could just go back to sleep and let my clone take over for a few hours. Thankfully, I did get a little sleep this morning. Nothing restful, but at least I'm not falling asleep while I write this. The good thing is, Christian was completely adorable the whole time he was awake and just seemed like he wanted to be with me. I think he's going to be teething here again shortly which could be why he didn't sleep last night.

Josh's birthday is this week! I'm so excited!!! He's going to be 29 years old! I've got an awesome cheesecake that he's picked out for me to make him and we're throwing him a party on Sunday! I LOVE PARTIES!!!! I've also got my cooking class this week. So aside from being a complete zombie mom, I've got a great week planned out-plus next weekend I'm getting my hair done. I haven't had a trim or haircut since September and I'm embarrassed by that. Seriously, my weird/grow out bangs have got a mind of their own right now.

Monday
(Meatless)
Tuesday
(Taco)
Wednesday
(Crockpot)
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches and Tater tots
Thursday
Cooking Class 
Friday
Pizza Night
Saturday
Spinach, Artichoke, Feta Stuffed Shells with Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Sunday
Fried Egg Sandwiches and Smoothies

Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats

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Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats | Catz in the Kitchen | catzinthekitchen.com #zucchiniIt's January 2nd and that means most people have made their resolutions. Do you know what the number #1 most common New Year's resolution of 2013 is? I bet you can guess it. Yup, you guessed it - eat healthy and exercise more often!

I can't help you with the exercising. Sadly, that's a hurdle you have to jump all on your own. I have a hard enough time with that myself. But the eating healthier...that I can help you with! One of my goals for the year is to eat healthier, too. Our family already eats fairly healthy, I would say. I dedicate one night a week (at least) to a meatless meal and we eat our fruits and veggies (though we can always eat more). [Read more...]

Happy New Year's Day 2014!!!!!!

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Happy 2014 everybody!!! I trust you all had a blast last night saying goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014! Josh, the kids, and I watched Mary Poppins and the kids rushed off to bed at around 10:30pm. Five minutes later, Christian woke up and was up from 10:35pm-1:30am! Yeah, so that was kind of a long stretch of time for him to be awake.  BUT....Christian did give me his first new word of the New Year! Christian said,"Night Night" to me last night!


We just stayed up late watching movies and tv shows before heading to bed around 2am. Thank goodness all of the kids slept in past 9am, or I would of been a zombie this morning.

I can tell you that 2014 has already started out with a bang though. My sister in love got engaged last night, so that means there is a wedding coming up...probably this summer!!! EEEEEK! I love weddings!!

I'm not one to usually make resolutions, but I decided it would be a good idea for me to have a cooking resolution. My goal for the year is to make five recipes from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. But if I want to make a long term goal, let's just say....I make one Julia Child recipe a month! That could be fun!

Well see how it pans out. Goals always seem better when written typed online, lol!

Happy 2014 again everyone! We will be back tomorrow with a recipe!

Tuesday's Tidings for December 31, 2013

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1. Happy New Year's Eve!!! Today, is the last day of 2013!!! Eeeeek! Where did the time go? Our 2013 was pretty amazing. I'm very much looking forward to the New Year.
BTW-how beautiful does Gracie look in this picture? A little to grown up if you ask me. On second thought, I'm not looking forward to the New Year. Slow down, father time!

2. Something real fun happened this morning. Our shower was making annoyingly loud dripping sounds after Josh got out of it this morning. So Josh fiddled with it for a bit and now, we have no water coming out of our shower! Whaaaat???? I had to shower in my daughter's bathroom this morning. I hope Josh can fix it fast. Thank goodness for two showers though.


3. I went back to the gym last night and you know when you haven't worked out for over a week and you just feel heavy and slow on the machines? Yeah, that was me last night. According to my timed progress, I wasn't actually any slower, I just felt slower. And it didn't help that the gym was crowded and my favorite ellipticals were taken and I had to use the ones I don't like. #thirdworldproblems

4. I went to Goodwill the other day and I came across a soup tureen. You guys know what those are? Here's one from Amazon in case you don't know what it is. Lisa, who hosts my cooking classes uses them sometimes when she is serving soup and I thought it was incredibly cute and fun way to class up serving soup to guests and family. Anyways, I found one and it's really cute. The only bummer is, it doesn't come with the serving spoon so I'm going to have to look for something that will work.

5. Speaking of spoons, I broke my pasta spoon a few weeks ago and have yet to replace it. I've only had it since I was 18 years old, so I guess it was about time to trade it in. Is there a brand you like?

6. Speaking of Goodwill, I came across this chair at our local one and fell in love. This chair is in perfect condition. No rips or tears or stains! Very comfortable and only $14.99! If it matched my decor I would of grabbed it in a second. I know I could of probably found a slipcover for it at Target, but oh well. I'm keeping my eye out for a smaller chair for over by our bookcase. But you never know what kind of treasures you can find at Goodwill.

7. I came across this Pavlova on Pinterest the other day. (What is Pavlova?) And I was floored by how beautiful it is! That is some serious photography right there I tell ya!

8. Since New Year's will be here any second now, what is your resolution for the year. Last year, I resolved to lose all of the pregnancy weight I gained with Christian. Which I did! SCORE! But I'm not so sure what I should resolve for this year. Maybe I should resolve to resolve nothing, lol!

9. Downton Abbey starts up soon! I'm so excited! Josh and I raced through the newest season of White Collar that hit Netflix and we're needing another show. Well, not really. We're still dragging out Walking Dead, rewatching The West Wing for the millionth time, I'm watching Grey's Anatomy in my spare time. But I'm ready for a little Downton!

10. Josh is really obsessed with the Doge meme's and he told me that the "real" story of Doge just came out. So if your kind of obsessed with Doge too...well, here ya go!

Weekly Menu 12/30-1/5

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Did you all have a nice Christmas? We sure did! It's hard to believe that with all of that build up, Christmas is actually over and New Year's Day is this Wednesday!! We're just flying!!

I got the menu planned out Saturday, we went shopping yesterday and my fridge has a lot of fruits and veggies in it. After several days of just basically sitting around and eating, I'm craving lot's of freshness and my waistline is pushing me to get back to the gym. So guess where I'll be tonight? The gym of course! Josh and I made a pack that come Monday (today) we would get back into our routine. I can't wait!

Monday
(Meatless)
Tuesday
(Taco)
Wednesday
(Crockpot)
Thursday
Swiss Chicken, Green Beans, and Rolls
Friday
Pesto Cheese Pizza with a Side Salad
Saturday
Sunday
Fried Egg Sandwiches and Smoothies