Chicken with mushroom cream sauce

Yesterday I whipped up something Julia Child.  This one is not time consuming.

Take some cut up mushrooms and saute them in some oil.  While you are doing that brown your chicken in some oil in another pan until golden.  Take the chicken out and add some shallots and white wine.  I probably used about 2/3 c of wine.  I cooked that until the onions were soft.  Then I added about 1/2 of cream, chicken, and the mushrooms.  Put a lid on it and let it cook for about 10 minutes.  Make sure you spoon the cream on top to the chicken.  It is really good if you don't like mushrooms then just don't add them.  Thankfully both my kids love them but the other kid (hubby) doesn't. 

twins?

People always say how much my son looks like me...

Green Tea

Green tea who knew.  Well, I am sure a lot of people knew how good green tea is for you but I didn't.  After my second child my hormones were all crazy and still are.  Hormones out of whack cause this girl to have a broken out face.  I have tried EVERYTHING.  I have gone to the dermo a million times.  Nothing has worked until recently.  I have been drinking tea and water like crazy.  I drink it about 4 times a day.  My face has actually been sooo much better.  Don't believe me just google benefits of green tea. 

bored

I am very blessed to be a stay at home mom...HOWEVER sometimes I look out the window and wonder what it would be like if I was out there.  I watch my neighbors leave everyday for work and watch them come home from work.  I wonder what it would be like to have co-workers and go to co-worker events.  My husband has some events that we go to but I always feel out of the loop.  They all have their inside jokes.  I also wonder what it would be like to wear something other than jeans.  Don't get me wrong I love my life and would not trade it for anything but I wonder. 

Baked apple pudding

Every October since 10-22-05 I have made this baked apple pudding.  It is my little guys favorite.  I only make it once a year and that is the day that they have the Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin special.  My little guys curl up on the couch with a bowl of this stuff  and watch the special.  Oh and let me tell you I made my boys help me make it.  I want them to be able to cook.  My hubby is not much of a cook but you better believe I will be like Paula Dean with her boys.

Baked Apple Pudding
2c. apples
1/2 tsp lemon juice
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1 c. flour

TOPPING
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
dash of salt
1 c.  boiling water

Slice 2 cups of apples, put in 8*8 buttered pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice.  Cream sugar, salt, and butter.  Add baking powder, milk, and flour (alternately).  Turn batter over apples.  Mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  Turn over top of batter.  Pour 1 cup of boiling water over all.  Do not stir.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

pumpkin cupcakes

To start I have no idea how to get this thing off my blog that says the cutest blog.  If anyone knows please let me know.  I made the most wonderful cupcakes ever.  This is not my pic but it looks just like the ones I made.  NO camera to take pics...sorry.

I bought the spice cake mix and baked my cupcakes just like the box.  Then I just took a block of cream cheese softened and added some powdered sugar (I am not sure how much but I just added enough to make it creamy).  To top it off I added some cinammon.  Then I sprinkled some cut up pecans on it. 

Julia Child's Coq a vin

Good morning blog friends.  Yesterday I did it...I tried to make Coq a Vin and I am happy to say it was a success and a lot of fun to make.  I am blogging at my parents house because our computer crashed and also I am sorry to say I have no pics because I have no camera.  Boy what a sad case I am.  So I got this recipe out of the Julia Child recipe book but honestly there is a LOT to type so I just copied this off of a website.  ENJOY!
Legendary chef Julia Child appeared on "Good Morning America" on May 11, 1995, with her Ragout of Chicken and Coq a Vin recipes.




Coq au Vin is chicken in red wine with small braised onions, mushrooms, and lardons of pork - an elaboration on the far more elementary preceding ragout, coq au vin involves more hand work since you have lardons of bacon to prepare for the special flavor they give to the sauce. Then there is the traditional garnish of small braised onions and sautéed mushrooms. This combination makes a wonderfully satisfying dish, and a fine one for company.





Ingredients

1/2 cup lardons (4 ounces -- 1-by-1/4-inch strips of blanched slab bacon or salt pork - see Special Note below)

2 1/2 to 3 pounds frying chicken parts

2 tbs. butter

1 tbs. olive oil (or good cooking oil)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 or 2 large cloves of garlic, pureed

1 imported bay leaf

1/4 tsp or so thyme

1 large ripe red unpeeled tomato, chopped, (or 1/3 cup canned Italian plum tomatoes)

3 cups young red wine (Zinfandel, Macon or Chianti type)

1 cup chicken stock (or more)

Beurre manie, for the sauce (1 1/2 tbs. each flour softened butter blended to a paste)

Fresh parsley sprigs (or chopped parsley)

1/3 cup good brandy (optional)

12 to 16 small brown-braised white onions

3 cups fresh mushrooms, trimmed, quartered and sautéed

Cooking Directions

Browning and simmering the chicken. Before browning the chicken, sauté the blanched bacon or salt pork and remove to a side dish, leaving the fat in the pan. Brown the chicken in the pork fat, adding a little olive oil, if needed. Flame the chicken with the brandy, if you wish -- it does give its own special flavor, besides being fun to do. Then proceed to simmer the chicken in the wine, stock, tomatoes and seasoning as directed in the master recipe.



Finishing the dish. Strain, degrease, and finish the sauce, also as described. Strew the braised onions and sautéed mushrooms over the chicken, baste with the sauce, and simmer a few minutes, basting, to rewarm the chicken and to blend flavors.



Special note: To blanch bacon or salt pork: When you use bacon or salt pork in cooking, you want to remove its salt as well as its smoky flavor, which would permeate the rest of the food. To do so, you blanch it -- meaning, you drop it into a saucepan of cold water to cover it by 2 to 3 inches, bring it to the boil, and simmer 5 to 8 minutes; the drain, refresh in cold water, and pat dry in paper towels.