Thanksgiving and the beginnings of Christmas

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend spent with family. We headed up to Boiling Springs on Wednesday night to spend and had a wonderful Thanksgiving on Thursday. My parents and grandmother were invited to Adam's parent's house for dinner and it was so nice to be able to spend time with everyone without having to eat two meals. The food was great and I must say that I did a pretty good job on the pies!

On Friday, I got to help watch my adorable nephew Jacob while my sister went to the spa. I made cookies and visited with everyone and of course we all admired the baby. We finished up that day with dinner at my parent's house.

On Saturday, we were those crazy people who sit at freezing cold football games while it's snowing. We went up to the last Penn State game of the season, froze our butts off and watched the football team lose. I'm not sure I'll ever need to attend a football game in the snow again.

Yesterday we woke up and headed back to Baltimore bright and early. We had planned on stopping at a tree farm on the way home to get our first live Christmas tree, but then we passed a little nursery with trees ready to go, so we purchased one there. Not only did they have really nice trees, they also had lights, wreaths and poinsettias so I got all of my decorations in one place. They tied our tree to the roof and we were ready to go.

We got home, unloaded the car, set up the tree and dug out all of our ornaments. The apartment looks so festive now and we really got in the Christmas mood. It's hard to believe that last year at this time, we were frantically doing last minute wedding things. It is so nice to have a live tree to admire while we're watching TV and hanging out in the living room!

I am not dead...

No people, I am not dead...just extremely, extremely busy. Since I last posted, some exciting things have happened:

1. My new nephew Max was born at the end of October. I went down to Atlanta to visit last week and he is adorable! It was great seeing the whole Davis family, getting to cuddle with Max and play with Charlotte. The best memory of when I was down there was when my sisters and I were all singing Bon Jovi with Charlotte while we played pretend instruments.

2. Fall semester is almost over which means that I only have one more year of graduate school left. Next December, I will officially be a Master of Public Administration and a Penn State graduate.

3. It's almost my first wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast the year has gone. We're hoping to make 2011 a year to remember by finishing grad school and possibly buying a house.

Those are just a few things happening in the Cianfichi household. I know I've been slacking on recipe ruts, but I'm hoping to get back to them after the holidays. Hope you all are doing well.

Recipe Rut Solution #8

Yesterday I made chicken chili and it was YUMMY!! The recipe was a bit complicated (and made a mess of our kitchen), but it was well worth it. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I got really caught up in making the chili.




For the Roasted Garlic:

• 12 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the Chili:

• 12 shallots, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 Anaheim chile peppers
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 7 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 15-ounce can navy beans, undrained
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese, for garnish

Make the roasted garlic:

1. Toss the 12 cloves garlic with the olive oil and 1 teaspoon water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover, leaving a vent, and microwave until soft, about 90 seconds. Let cool, covered.

Prepare the chili:

2. Cook the shallots in the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until caramelized, about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place the chiles on a foil-lined broiler pan and broil until charred on all sides, turning, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Peel the peppers with your fingers or a paring knife. Stem, seed and chop.

4. Add the minced garlic to the shallots and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

5. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 3 minutes.

6. Increase the heat to high and add the wine; simmer 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the pan.

7. Add the roasted chiles, 6 cups broth, the chicken, chili powder, cayenne, beans, and salt and black pepper to taste. Return to a simmer.

8. Squeeze the soft pulp from the roasted garlic into a blender or food processor. Add the remaining 1 cup broth and process until smooth.

9. Add to the chili and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes, adding the spinach during the last 5 minutes.

10. Add the paprika and cream and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the cheese.

Again, this recipe was awesome and we now have a huge Tupperware full in the freezer which will be perfect to pull out on a cold day later this fall.

Total Meal Cost: $20.00

Adam's Rating: 10 out of 10

Next Day Lunchability: It was even better the next day for lunch!

Quarter of a Century

Last Sunday was Adam's 25th birthday. I invited everyone down on Saturday night for dinner, cake and the Penn State game. Adam's present was a 60" plasma TV and he was in heaven watching the first big weekend of football. It was so nice having everyone there to celebrate another wonderful year in the life of a pretty great guy!

Recipe Rut Solution #7

Mexican food is a favorite of mine, so this week I decided to make fish tacos with homemade guacamole. When I've had fish tacos in the past, the fish has been breaded, but this recipe calls for plain, grilled fish with just a bit of lime juice. Adam loved the tacos, but unfortunately, the textures of the fish and the guac weren't my favorite.

• 4 pieces fresh halibut, steak or filets, 6 to 8 ounces each (we used tilapia because it was much cheaper)
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3 small to medium ripe Haas avocados, pitted and scooped from skins with a large spoon
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt, eyeball it
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
• 1 heart Romaine lettuce
• 12 soft (6-inch) flour tortillas
  

1. Drizzle halibut with extra-virgin olive oil to keep fish from sticking to the grill pan or grill. Season fish with salt and pepper, to your taste.

2. Grill fish 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until opaque.

3. Squeeze the lime juice over the fish and remove from the grill pan or grill. Flake fish into large chunks with a fork.

4. In a blender or food processor, combine avocado flesh, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, yogurt and salt. Process guacamole sauce until smooth.

5. Remove guacamole sauce to a bowl and stir in diced tomatoes and chopped scallions.



6. Break up fish and pile some of the meat into soft shells and slather with guacamole sauce.



Total Meal Cost: $30.00 (this was the most expensive meal we've made, mostly because of the fish)

Adam's Rating: 9 out of 10

Next Day Lunchability: I would not necessarily recommend saving the leftover fish, and please, don't bring it in to work the next day and stick it in the microwave so that the entire office smells like fish!

Recipe Rut Solution #6

So I officially suck at updating the blog with new recipes...sorry! Life has become incredible hectic with classes starting again and mandatory overtime implemented at work. I have lots going on, but nothing interesting enough to blog about.

Since it's Labor Day weekend, I had some time for another recipe rut solution. This one comes compliments of my Dad (thanks Dad)! Without further adieu...here is Kung Pao Chicken!

• 2 Tbsp wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in bite size pieces
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 green or red bell pepper, cut in chunks
• 1/2 cup broccoli, washed and cut up
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 medium green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup peanuts, dry roasted and unsalted

1. Mix together vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar; set aside.

2. Coat chicken pieces in corn starch. Heat oil in large skillet or wok.

3. Add chicken, green pepper, broccoli and red pepper and stir-fry 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked. Remove from skillet and keep warm.



4. Stir-fry onion, garlic, and ginger for 30 seconds.

5. Add vinegar mixture and return chicken and vegetables to pan, stirring to coat chicken.



6. Mix in peanuts and heat through.





Total Meal Cost: $15.00

Adam's Rating: 8 out of 10

Next Day Lunchability: I am imagining it will be really good for lunch tomorrow or Tuesday.

Overall, it was an awesome recipe, healthy and really light. In the future, I might try making it with shrimp and maybe adding some snap peas or water chestnuts. Also, it was had a bit of a kick, so if you don't like spicy, you could skip the red pepper.

Something New

Right before I bought my Hyundai Santa Fe, I test drove an Audi A3 and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, the one I test drove had a ton of miles on it, which is why I ended up not purchasing it. Since then, Adam has been researching and has been on the look-out for a nice A3 at a good price.

Last weekend, we found one. At first, I thought it was crazy to even go look at another car because being spontaneous is totally not my personality. However, he talked me into going and looking at the car on Saturday afternoon after I was done working overtime.

Well, I fell in love and so... we bought it! I know, it's crazy! We even traded the Santa Fe for what I bought it for!

Since we drove it home on Saturday evening, we've had a blast driving around with the sunroof open, singing to the radio and figuring out our new toy. Rest assured, I WILL NOT be trading this one for something else anytime soon.

Recipe Rut Solution #5

This week's recipe rut solution was a real winner! Last summer, my mother-in-law gave me a bunch of Cooking Light magazines. Last weekend, I sat and went through all of them to see if they had any good recipe rut solutions. I gave Adam some options, and he picked lamb-burgers for tonight. They are a healthy version of a Gyro and they were incredibly easy and tasted great!

Here's the recipe:

• 3/4 lb. ground lamb
• 3/4 lb. ground turkery
• 1 container feta cheese
• 2 tsp lemon rind
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. rosemary
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 pack of pitas

Mix all of these ingredients together to make the burger mix, then form them into patties and they are ready to grill! For me, it made eight patties and I wish we would've invited people over to help us eat all of them, but we will take them for lunch tomorrow and I'm assuming they'll have good lunchability.



For the Tzatziki Sauce:

• 3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 tbsp grated peeled seeded cucumber
• Pinch of salt
• 1 clove garlic
• Squeeze of lemon juice

Mix all of these ingredients together and it turns out to be really tasty sauce.

Once your lamb-burgers are done, shove them into a pita with some lettuce, tomatoes and sauce and you're ready to go! I paired them with french fries and some homemade pickles that Adam's grandma sent us home with a few weekends ago.

Total Meal Cost: $25.00

Adam's Rating: 12 out of 10

Things I Saw Today

Today I saw the inside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. We were only there for six hours, and yet I saw so many things that really affected me.

I saw a soldier be medically discharged, ending his military career.

A veteran took her first steps on an artificial leg.

I met a hopeful quadruple amputee that is one month younger than me.

I learned how doctors at Walter Reed are able to reconstruct soldier's skulls in 4 hours, when it used to take 12.

I saw pictures of double amputees who were able to do all of the things that they used to do, including hunting, fishing and skiing.

I met the mothers, fathers, wives, husbands and siblings who give up everything in their life to stand by the soldier that they love.

I heard stories of toddlers taking their first steps as their mothers and fathers begin to walk again.

On the way out, one of my coworkers said that on the way home, we should really stop and a church and pray for all of the healing that is going on in that place, and he was completely right because it really is a remarkable place.

We are so incredibly lucky to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, but it's so easy to forget that people fight for that every single day.

Jacob's Baptism

Today we celebrate my nephew Jacob's baptism! He was perfect throughout the entire church service and Sally and Andrew hosted a wonderful lunch for everyone.