Chicken & Dumplings

I wanted to make some kind of comfort food but still wanted something healthier than the typical comfort foods, like mac & cheese. I made my Mom's chicken and dumplings since the dish has protein and lots of veggies.






Even though it looks (and tastes) rich, there is no butter or cream in the dish. Its the best kind of comfort food!

Cooking "Class"

Laura A and I took what we thought was a cooking class but turned out to be a cooking demonstration. While a little disappointed I couldn't cook, I really enjoyed the demonstration and the chef was pretty entertaining. We went to Williams Sonoma for the demonstration and a food tasting based on the new Giada cookbook! It just came out Tuesday and there are so many yummy recipes in it.

Here's a few shots of our night...

artichoke & bean crostini and pea pesto crostini

bibb, basil & mint salad and chicken milanese with tomato & fennel sauce

raspberry pound cake with vin santo cream

We have already started brainstorming a party we can cook the new recipes at! I also picked up a new cake pan while at the store... giant donut pan!

Two Week Catch Up!

Well... lots of things have been going on since my last post. Here's a quick recap!

1. I turned another year older this month and celebrated with a delish brunch at The Grape with the girls. THANKS for the lovely gifts girls!
2. My last day at GT was last week. I had about a week off to relax and it was definitely needed!
3. I have started a new job with my good friend Laura A this week! Today is Day 4... so far, so good!
4. I flew home last weekend to visit with my parents and to go with Megan, Laura O and Stephanie to get fitted and order the bridesmaid dresses. I also got a little quality time in with Baby G while at the dress store (beyond cute and has discovered her voice, smiling and how to make spit bubbles).

I've also been spring cleaning everything in sight. Mike and I have both been purging the closet, desks, pantry, cabinet, cars etc. We've collected way too much stuff the past few months and need the room!

As far as cooking adventures... I've been having failure after failure lately! I bought some chicken at a grocery store that smelled awful when I opened the package (I was going to make oven-roasted lemon-garlic chicken). I bought a piece of pork that looked good, strip of fat on one side-nice looking cut of meat on the other side, cooked it for somewhere around 5 hours, cut into it and discovered it was about 85% fat on the inside hidden by the "nice looking" small strip of meat (this was supposed to be pulled pork for sandwiches). Then for St. Patrick's Day I attempted some beer bread I saw a recipe for... total disappointment! It was heavy, not airy and not tasty. Promptly went into the trash. In conclusion... I've been cooking basics because I'm tired of throwing food away! Its been a few weeks now and I'm ready to be adventurous again :)