Undone

When i was growing up my aunt had a saying on her wall, and I didn’t get it as a kid, but I get it now… It said “If you are what you eat, I’m either fast, cheap, or easy.”

As terrible as that sounds, it totally applies to me. I work, and even if I didn’t, spending time in a kitchen with kids hanging off of me asking ever 30 seconds if dinner is done yet, well it’s not my bag. I’m sure there are people who either enjoy their time in the kitchen more or have children who hound them less.

This week we tried Mini Chicken Pot Pies.

Now we had them once before, on a whim, because I found the recipe and had all the stuff, so i thought “why the heck not?”

I will admit, I am a purchaser of Canned chicken breast. SOMETIMES you need it. Ok? Sometimes *I* need it because A) I forget to take chicken out of the freezer like ALL THE TIME and I come home from work and I think “OH NO WHAT NOW?!” and I don’t have time to do anything else except maybe cry about it a little, and pick up food on the way home from work. I get my cans at costco. It’s pretty tasty. I don’t mean I’d eat it out the can or anything… that’s nasty. Anyway. if you have left over chicken breasts (or thighs or something) or maybe you got a rotisserie chicken– I’m pretty sure it’d all work out. I try and make my chicken breast (cause i prefer breasts… HAH) shredded a bit.  The KEY to this recipe (which I discussed before) is that the filling can’t be too wet. When you combine everything the cream of chicken soup works like glue and holds it together, it’s not runny or anything. So that allows the biscuits to get crisp, not soggy and nasty. If you’re like me, I’d like to highlight the fact that you MUST grease the muffin tin. I always forget. when I say always, I mean it. lol.

If you’re a much more patient mommy than me, and your little ones have clean hands they can help line the muffin tin by pressing in the biscuits. My hubby wanted me to roll them out first and then smoosh them in, but I honestly don’t notice a difference. Also this is a bit tricky getting them all evenly cooked. the ones in the middle of the pan don’t seem to get as crispy on top… that may be my oven’s shortfall though.

Ease: 5/5 – this recipe is all about dumping food together and sticking it in the oven. Super easy. I made it sunday after church one week. SO EASY.

Taste: Make sure you season it well. I used the recommended seasonings, and I thought it was pretty dang good. num. 4/5

Kid rating:

Kate: Now my Katie will eat just about anything… except bread (GASP HORROR!) Our first go around she ate the whole thing, and loved it, I think she even had seconds. but the second time she only ate the filling. I suspect a cup of noodles spoiled her dinner. 4/5

Audrey: Eats like a bird. First time we ate this she had 2, and came back for more! That’s a HUGE victory. If you know picky eaters, this is like… miraculous. BUT the second time she only had one and called it quits. As with her sister, i expect a cup of noodles prevented her from eating more. 3/5

Overall: I’d say a pretty good recipe. It was good enough I gave it a second go. so that says SOMETHING right? Plus it has veggies, dairy, grain, protein… pretty well rounded. Not perfect… but at least it’s got SOME of that stuff right? 4/5

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest!

Derringer Meryl [Not quite a cook yet] Out

Not all of Pinterest is amazing. Sometimes people are SUUUUUUUUUPER talented, and try to pass off their talent as something that is “SUPER EASY!”

Um No.

You have no need for wondering here. I am NOT super talented. Most of my talent lies in sewing… and even that isn’t stunning. I do practice and try– and it’s better than my cooking, but you won’t find me selling things any time soon!

Today’s Pinterest fail… actually comes from Pilsbury. I love me some pre-made dough. I also like home making bread, but there are times you have 2 hours of homework to go over with your two kids, and you get home at 5 pm, and waiting 30 minutes (or spending 30 min) on making dough seems like a lot of work. So pre-made dough it is!

So I was working on this pin and I made it as per specs… or so i thought… smoothed it out, thin as I could manage. Toppings added (I used spaghetti sauce, pepperoni, and cheese!) Then I coated the outside with my Italian seasoning, which is a bit different the the actual recipe but not enough to cause problems. I cooked it as per instructions (on the can, not the pin) and ended up with GOO.

Why? Because the pin (picture) was different than what is actually at the website! First of all, I’ve learned, from my Pizza loving husband, that when using pre-made dough, you CANNOT use spaghetti sauce. It *MUST* be pizza sauce. Why? Because Pizza sauce has less fluid in it. the excess fluid from the spaghetti sauce causes the dough to not be able to dry out and cook. Also, I had the temp (from the can) set too high (450) when the recipe on the website has it set to 350. The cook time is longer (at a lower temp) too!

SO. Really this pinterest fail is on *ME* for not paying closer attention 🙁 I’m going to give this recipe another shot. I would caution that eating under cooked dough will make you GASSY! So so so gassy! The food was still tasty, but less appealing when you know that A) it’ll make you bloated, B) It’s mooshy.

Hoping to try this again next cooking cycle! I’ll save my ratings until then!

Derringer Meryl [Housewife Extraordinaire] Out

Ok, if you’re pinterest Savvy and hate stains on clothes, you’ve probably already seen this remedy! Or maybe you’re searching for one. I wanted to add my personal experiences with this to the fray!

Dawn soap (I get the blue stuff. Blue is awesome)

Hydrogen peroxide

Baking soda.

(you can see the original post I found about it here, and you can follow my “for the home” pinterest board here)

I tried JUST peroxide and dawn, and it works … I’d say 50/50. But you add in the Baking soda, and all of the sudden magic happens! I’m sure there’s a suiper awesome chemical reaction happening there… I don’t know what it is, I won’t even pretend.

So I got a costume from a friend. Well, I am BORROWING a costume from a friend. I’m really sensitive about borrowing people’s things and especially for my kids who I can’t guarantee will be as careful as I like. Especially when they go off to school and get rowdy. You know how kids are… when they’re sugared up. (Even though as my husband would point out that candy=hyperness is a fallacy. And it is… but kids with candy=rowdy kids, it’s correlation not causation.) Anyway, sugared up, weird colored hair and face paint, and … low and behold she had red stuff all over the outfit. I felt like a girl version of charlie brownSo I said “I really hope this works” and tried out the recipe above. I squirted on the Dawn. I probably did too much, a little goes a long way … and then the hydrogen peroxide. I mix that around together. I use my fingers. yep. wait a minute (ok, like 15 seconds) and add on the Baking soda. awesome. aw yiss. i grate that stuff in with my nails, it makes a putty/sludge thing that just gets all of the gunk out.  Since this was a dress thing, and It needed to be dry for trick-or-treating … so i wrapped up the bottom in a grocery bag to keep that part dry. I rinsed the top out in the sink, and VOILA! It’s gone. I am SO SO SO happy (and so is my friend I’m sure!)

To be fair, that’s a fresh stain. Fresh stains come out pretty easy. What about set in stains?  Well I’ve got a 50/50 on set in stains. I’ve only tried on some of them once, so I’m not giving up. I got a few baby clothes I can try this on, and this time… Take pictures! *GASP!*

I hope you’re having a happy Halloween!

Derringer [I AM THE STAIN MASTER!] Out

I’m going to start posting about my pinterest adventures. I use pinterest for a lot of things, but number one, it is my electronic recipe box. I love it. It contains easy recipes, and then things that I think “I am never going to do this, but it looks sooooo good.”

I’m no cook. Once when I went to Girl Scout camp, I gave myself food poisoning. No joke. So this journey will be riddled with “OMG we’re all so sick.” As such these posts will be after the possible food poisoning has happened. I’ll tell you how difficult they are, and when the recipe is ideal (Ie, lazy days, busy days, fancy day) how it tastes, and how it rates with my kids (one picky, one not).

What else you should know about me… I’m not any sort of vegan, vegitarian, gluten sensitive, etc. if you’re looking for that– well I suggest looking elsewhere. There’s lots of that online. I am just a working mom (for now) who is trying to expand her cooking horizons!

You can follow me on Pinterest here. My food boards are entrees, desserts, and breads. Yeah, I love bread so much it has it’s own board.

Today we’re reviewing: Baked Ravioli!

I am not a picture taker, you’d see how my house looks… here’s a hint… it’s not great. You can view the recipe at What’s for Dinner?

This recipe is like a lasgna … only easier. You don’t cook the ravioli. You layer spaghetti sauce, ravioli, cheese, repeat. Seriously SO EASY. 10 minutes prep, kids can talk to you while you do it, you could totally let your seven year old do most of it herself. Mine would just need help with the can opener. It cooks 10 minutes. i slathered on the cheese, because I love cheese. I seriously… I can’t take it. Anyway. My kids and I gobbled it up. I could have shoved some veggies in the microwave to go along with it, and it would have been perfect (or if you’re more fancy you could have done a salad or a side dish of some other sort) I got sausage/cheese stuffed ravioli because I like having meat with my pasta. I feel like it’s better that way. Possibly more balanced.

My score:

Tastiness 4/5

Ease: 5/5 (THE EASIEST!)

When to make this: Tired days. Busy days, PMSing and need carb days…. (or is that just me?)

Kids Score:

Tastiness 5/5

Seconds? YES!

Leftovers: Yes — and they were edible. Sometimes left overs are just… no good. These were still QUITE tasty!

Would I make it again? Yes. Absolutely.

I hope that I can keep doing these, and keep you guys interested in cooking along with me!

Derringer Meryl [Cookery] Out

When I was little,  I was prone to fits.

I would cry and cry. I would throw myself down and get red in the face.  I lacked subtly.

When I’d get worked up,  whether it was reasonable or not…  I  can remember my dad… He would place me on his lap and rub my back until my sobbing subsided. Tell me to take deep breaths.  Then when I was calm he would explain the way the world worked. He would look in my eyes, and i would focus on his. He taught me that you showed you were paying attention by eye contact. His eyes weren’t steady but I could tell they were searching for a glimmer of understanding. That I heard and comprehended the things he was telling me.

I did.

Once when I was older, engaged. I had a nightmare. It was terrifying. It shook me. I cannot remember all the details, but I remember only wanting the feeling of calm and comfort of having small circles rubbed on my back and the steady low voice of my father.