How did January go by so fast? Where does the time go? Where is the Fitbit charging cord (seriously, if anyone knows…).
Not a ton of events hosted during this bleak month. We did have one momentous occasion. Guitar Boy entered the realm of teenager.
Neither Hallmark nor Target carries violent video game cake toppers, you have to make your own. Weird.
January definitely is for comfort food. So it was a big soup month around here. I made Smitten Kitchen’s Ultimate Chicken Soup.
I made Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup from Two Peas and Their Pod.
With Italian Grilled Cheese from Stanley Tucci’s cookbook.
Basically it is fresh mozzarella sliced thin on Italian bread, dipped in a slightly beaten egg and grilled. I rubbed the bread with a cut garlic clove and added a pinch of salt to the egg mixture. It was gooey and good, but it needed a little somethin’ somethin’. If I did it again, at MBork’s suggestion I would add grated parmesan to the egg dip to give it a frico type of texture. Or I might make it two cheese with Fontina or another strong but melty cheese. But hey, grilled cheese, no complaining!
Made the easiest Stovetop Mac and Cheese from The Food Lab at Serious Eats.
This was really good. And it heats up well the next day. The only tip I’d offer is don’t add the salt until you taste it. Cheese varies in saltiness. PS, that’s in a clear glass bowl. I don’t just put piles of mac-n-cheese directly on the table. Well, not often.
Drummer Boy advanced to the Battle of the Books semi-finals. They read 7 books in two months. They didn’t win the whole thing but not for lack of preparation. So proud.
Taking a step away from clothespin-on-the-aorta type of recipes, I also made this Detox Salad from Gimme Some Oven.
I didn’t have miso though so I substituted with this Ginger Sesame Dressing from Epicurious. Delicious. Though if you are going to store it in the refrigerator for a day, don’t add the almonds. They get super soggy.
So what food is going to the Superbowly party today? Oh, wait no, it’s Superbowl LI. My bad.
You know how you are walking through Trader Joe’s and they are handing out samples of food and drink. Fatefully one day I was walking through and they had taken their Pub Cheese and warmed it. Just warmed it. And then put it on pretzel bread. And then handed it to me. And then I ate it. And then my whole family ate it. And now Imma gonna eat it again.
Seriously, all you do is warm it up for 30 seconds or so in the microwave and put it over a warmer and slice the bread. As Ina would say, “how easy is that?”. Also bringing the always popular and totally low calorie Muffins That Taste Like Donuts from Tasty Kitchen.
And my 90’s classic – Crab Dip.
Old School Crab Dip
WHAT YOU NEED
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 TBSP mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced (or use 2 cubes of Trader Joe’s crushed, frozen garlic. I heart you Trader Joe’s!)
Hearty pinches of kosher salt and a grind of black pepper
3 green onions minced or 2 TBSP of finely minced white onion
6 oz crab meat (canned or refrigerated, but fully cooked)
WHAT YOU DO
Combine the everything except the onion and crab meat in a bowl. Blend with a hand mixer until smooth. Stir in the crab meat and onion with a rubber spatula until fully combined. Put it into serving bowl, cover and chill at least an hour.
And so we’re off to enjoy the commercials big game. Have a great week everyone!
Used the shredded chicken to make tacos (mix with cumin and chili powder or just package of taco seasoning and a dash of chicken stock if your chicken is too dry). Add some cotija cheese or queso fresco, lettuce or slaw of your choice and a squeeze of lime and wrap in a toasted corn or flour tortilla). 
Using many of the same ingredients, made a slow cooker batch of 
Used the various precut vegetables in salads or as sides. Used orzo as a side to the salmon, froze the extra and then used in the soup. Froze a lot of rice too. So in February I’ll have some freezer meals ready to go.
Yep, those are cat paws to the right. Skunk the Cat – always helping.
