Week of December 14, 2014

This week I’ve been thinking about how much I love my dining room. I’ve loved it since before we even bought this house. Mr. Rutledge proposed to me in there. He had some crazy story about needing to take measurements of the room because his uncle was going to make us a table. So I met him here after work… I thought it was strange he was dressed up. Then, he pulled out a yard stick... to measure a room. I may have pleasantly questioned how well (read ‘well” as ‘in the hell”) we could measure a room with a yardstick. Fortunately for Mr. Rutledge, I’m very laid back and took on the attitude of “meh- it’ll be fine.” So I started downloading a room-decorating app so I could determine the appropriate size table for the room, questioning whether the tile was 12 inches and if we could just could the tile with a rough estimate of extra space for the grout, recalling what I’d recently pinned on Pinterest and imagining how many friends or family I could squish around this imaginary table.

Then, Mr. Rutledge started getting a bit sappy about how this was the house we would start our lives in some day. Me? I was still trying to get that darn app to download so we could finish up here. After all, I was hungry! Then, I realized he was shaking and thought, ‘That’s weird. Is his blood sugar low? Has he eaten today?” But then there was a ring and a very important question!

His interpretation of the above story may be slightly differently. However, he is the editor of this blog. Not the writer ;)

I, also, love this room because it’s where we share meals with friends and family. For us, food is a love language. We love to cook and eat together and we love to have people over to entertain. Whether it’s for a holiday, a celebration or a Saturday, we love to gather round our table.

Recently, I got to share our table with our friend Nicole. She is a stylist for Stella and Dot (www.stellaanddot.com/nicoletroup). You can also check out the Trunk Show she had at my house (www.stellaanddot.com/qof36) for ideas for Christmas presents! Once you order, you receive your jewelry within 3-5 days! I didn’t take any pictures of anything, but Nicole did get some of our yummy food!

Here are some pictures of the meals we shared on our table this week. Sadly, we did not get to make the flatbread because my bread molded before I used it. Cami fail. We did cook all week so score for us!

Also, how super cute is my snowman towel holder?? Thanks, Sherry!

So what’s headed to our table this week?  Psst. If you’re making the dumplings and chicken Mexicana, consider cooking all of your chicken on one night so save yourself time on another night. Also, the grocery list is a bit long this week. Sorry! Double check your pantry because you probably have a good chunk of it already!

Chicken Dumplings (1) – Mr. Rutledge has requested these…again. I think he is afraid he won’t get them in enough times this winter. Since it was his only request, I guess I’ll honor it.

Recipe: If chicken is uncooked, boil in a large pot of broth with a little thyme (I mean little), salt, pepper and rosemary. In a separate pan, chop and sauté ½ white onion, 3 celery stalks and 3 carrots until soft. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from broth and shred. Next, add vegetables to the big pot with chicken broth. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Then, double your liquid with milk and bring to a soft boil. Mix 3 cups of Bisquik and 1 cup of milk and plop in your dumplings. Once they float, you’re ready to eat.

Asian Marinated Flank Steak & Thai Quinoa Salad (2) – I love Asian food, but when you eat it out there ends up being a ton of sodium and fat. You can cook at home and cut back on oils, sodium and frying to make it a healthier option. Both of these recipes (flank steak and quinoa salad) are new to us, but Mr. Rutledge loves flank steak so how can it be bad?

Pulled Pork Gyros with Sliced Cucumbers (3) – I have some leftover pulled pork in the freezer. It has some beans in it, so I’m not convinced it will work with the recipe. I’ll definitely make the tzatziki and give it a taste. If it doesn’t work with the pork, I’ll just dip cucumbers in there. The red cabbage, onions and tomatoes will go fine with my leftover pork.

Her Greek seasoning mix (it took me a bit to find on the site so here it is!):

1½ tablespoons dried oregano

1½ teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon onion powder

1½ tablespoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (note: freshly ground black pepper is less volume than non-freshly ground, if using non-freshly ground use half the amount)

2 teaspoons beef bouillon powder

2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1½ tablespoons sweet paprika powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Honey Glazed Salmon with Roasted Veggie (4) – Get started by roasting your vegetables. I’m not going to tell you what to buy, but I like green veggies with salmon. I’ll be buying whatever is on sale at our grocery store. I feel like salmon has enough fat in it; so, if you don’t overcook it, consider leaving out the butter in the sauce and making more of a lime drizzle for it. This will cut back on some calories. I've been trying to get my sister-in-law to try some salmon, but everything we have loved lately.  This week's recipe does not so I hope she tries it!

Chicken Mexicana (5) – My Memaw makes this for any of her Trout grandkids when we come to visit. It is terribly unhealthy, but the definition of comfort food for me. The original recipe calls for butter, but I suggest using a non-stick skillet and only using a bit of olive or canola oil to help (however futile) with the health.

Ingredients:

2.5 cups cooked chicken, chopped

Large onion, chopped

½ bell pepper, chopped

¾ cup butter OR lightly coat your skillet with oil

Cream of mushroom soup

Cream of chicken soup

Rotel

4 oz. green chilies

1 cup cheddar

Cool Ranch Doritos

Directions: Preheat oven at 350. Sauté onion and pepper in butter or oil. Add soups, Rotel, chilies and ½ cup of cheese. Simmer until the cheese melts, then add chicken. Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the chicken mixture in dish. Layer with handful of crushed Doritos. Follow with other half of the chicken. Top with crushed Dortitos and cheddar cheese. Bake covered with foil for 20-30 minutes (removed foil for last 5 minutes.

Produce

Celery (1)

2 White onions (1, 5)

Carrots (1)

Ginger (2)

Cabbage (2, 3)

Red bell pepper (2)

Shredded carrots (2)

2 Red onions (2, 3)

Green onion (2)

Cilantro (2)

Cucumbers (3)

Yellow onion (3)

Garlic (3, 4)

Tomatoes (3)

Mint (3)

Veggie to roast (4)

2 limes (4)

Green bell pepper (5)

Meat counter/deli

Chicken breast – get enough for 2 meals (1, 5)

Flank steak (2)

2 lb pork roast (3)

Salmon (4)

  

Dry goods

Bisquick (1)

Apple cider vinegar (1)

2 Chicken broth cartons (1)

Dry white wine (2)

Soy sauce (2)

Hoisin sauce (2)

Sesame oil (2)

Sriracha sauce (2)

Olive oil (2, 3, 4)

Quinoa (2)

Cashews or peanuts (2)

Peanut butter (2)

Honey (2, 4)

Gyros (3)

Flour (4)

Cream of mushroom soup (5)

Cream of chicken soup (5)

Rotel (5)

4 oz Green chilies (5)

Cool Ranch Doritos (5)

Seasonings/spices

Salt, pepper

Thyme (1)

Rosemary (1)

Dill (2)

Oregano (3)

Onion powder (3)

Garlic powder (3)

Beef bouillon powder (3)

Parsley (3)

Thyme (3)

Paprika (3)

Cinnamon (3)

Nutmeg (3)

Fridge/Freezer

Skim milk (1)

Edamame not in the shell! (2)

1 cup Greek yogurt (3)

Butter (4, 5) or not?

Shredded cheddar (5)