Now that I have officially started grad school I am much busier with my academics and classes and have less time for domestic chores around the house. Paul and I had a discussion with the kids and  told them everyone has to pitch in. From now on they have to do their own laundry, which they agreed to do (as long as I do the sorting). Since I have classes a few nights a week, the kids will need to cook a few dinners. The latter they are very excited about doing.  Our routine is that we decide together on a recipe, which I leave out on the kitchen counter along with all the ingredients.  While I am in my office on-line with one of my classes, they cook dinner. So far so good. Last night Eva made Pasta Puttanesca and it was delicious. She was very proud of herself. Sophia did the dishes. It is her turn to make dinner on Thursday. She plans to make quiche. Here is the link for the Pasta Puttanesca  recipe if you would like to try it. Some of the  ingredients she used were  products from Coeur d’Olives, my friend Les’ company that I am doing some marketing for right now.

This is a great cold-winter-rainy-day recipe.

Ingredients:
Filling:
1 small onion (I love to use shallots too.)
Handful of mushroom, sliced
2 cups cooked chicken
1 10 oz. package of frozen mixed vegetables like peas and carrots.
2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) of condensed cream of chicken soup.
Note:Can also use cream of mushroom and cream of celery soup.
Sometimes I use three cans if I want my casserole to be creamier.
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Biscuit topping:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. For filling, combine onion and mushrooms in large, microwave safe casserole dish. Cover; microwave on high 2 minutes or until softened, stirring halfway through cooking time. Add chicken, frozen vegetables, soup and pepper to onion mixture. Mix thoroughly and bake 10-15 minutes until bubbly around the edges. In the meantime, make the topping. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine egg, milk and oil. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Remove casserole from oven. Drop tablespoons of topping evenly over chicken mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve with cranberry sauce or apple sauce.

I don’t usually describe food as fun, but recently I tried Bear Naked granola and I loved it. ( I would just like to interject here that I am not a paid endorser of the product, and I didn’t get freebies to try it either. I just liked it and want to share it with you.)  My kids were asking me to make them yogurt, fruit and  granola parfaits so I picked up some Bear Naked granola and some Stonyfield yogurt and on the inside lid of the yogurt I found this recipe for granola cupcakes. I have made them twice. The first time with The Heavenly Chocolate granola and the second time with The Vanilla Almond Crunch granola.  The added granola makes for a very interesting and fun texture. My family loved them. For the recipe visit my kids’s craft blog: Just Imaginate.

Paul was in L.A. last week and returned on Friday evening. He was driving back, about a 6 hour drive, and I knew he would be tired and hungry. I was soooo looking forward to seeing him. It was a weekend without the kids so I decided to make us a romantic, reunion dinner. Since we both love fish I chose pan-seared halibut with black bean sauce. He loved it. Here’s the recipe for two. Super easy with a very gourmet flair.

PAN-SEARED HALIBUT WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE Read the rest of this entry »

I’m adding a new category to my blog called FOODIES REVIEW. As you may have guessed by now, I am a Foodie. In fact, I used to have a food repping business called, guess what? Foodies. These aren’t necessarily reviews per se, but plugs for products and restaurants that I absolutely LOVE. The first product line I want to present to you is from my friend Robert Lambert. He makes the most amazing marmalades, chocolate sauces and preserved fruit! When I repped his line every store I showed it to bought it. People who didn’t like marmalade loved his. He picks all the fruit himself and makes everything by hand. Inspiration for his products came from a family farm in northern Wisconsin, where his grandmother Florrie began cooking at 13 in the logging camps of the early 1900’s. Extensive preserving by mother and grandmother was a fond childhood memory. When these memories met the ingredients of his adopted California home–wine, grapes, citrus fruit and ginger-–-his product line was born. Robert is pictured here receiving his award from Jacques Pepin for his cherries in merlot syrup.