Recipes #5 and 6

The Menu (June 16, 2010):

Rotel Chicken- pg 95

Pita Croutons- pg 151

Green beans

Salad

Biscuits

So this night we invited Jake over for dinner.  Wednesdays are Jake's day off of work, so it works out well for him to come over with plenty of time to hang out.  As I was cooking, I realized I was going to have plenty to eat.  Daniel was playing golf with Ryan, so I thought, "Why not invite Carrie and Ryan, as well?" We certainly owe them many dinners for as many times as they have invited us over to their house for supper.  When I called Carrie to invite them to dinner, she was driving back from Pickwick with my dad, so we invited him as well.  My mom was out of town this week, so he quickly accepted a night of home cooking instead of a turkey sandwich at home.  So, what began as a meal for three turned in to a house full of guests.  But, the more the merrier, especially when family is involved!  This was a laid back meal, spent eating on TV trays and watching the basketball game.  

I was so excited, because as I was cooking I realized I was actually going to have dinner ready to serve at a normal hour, and I was even going to have extra time to begin cleaning the kitchen.  While in the process of cleaning and cooking, a storm came through.  It didn't last long, but it did manage to cause some sort of damage, resulting in no running water.  Thankfully I had already begun cooking everything and didn't need water to continue, although it did make cleaning the kitchen pretty difficult.  I had plenty of rotel chicken for everyone, but I realized I wasn't sure I would have enough sides.  Carrie had Mom and Dad for dinner the night before and conveniently had leftover green beans.  It worked out perfect because she offered to bring her leftovers to add to my pot of green beans.  Thank you, Carrie, for saving the day!  

The green beans are not in the cookbook, but delicious and so easy!  Recipe- 2 Bouillon cubes for each can of french style green beans.  Cook the beans (do not drain, include juice) and bouillon cubes for ~25 minutes.  Then, turn the eye down to low and allow green beans to sit (covered) for 45 or more minutes. The longer they sit, the more flavor = even better!  The rotel chicken was a recipe from one of my best friends from college and bridesmaid, Maggie Kueven.  You may recognize her name from the last post, she's the one I was talking to when I sliced my ankle.  This recipe was easy, serves lots and delicious!! This also serves as great leftovers!  The pita croutons were a recipe from Donna Hacker, a good friend of my mom's from Fulton.  The recipe says to bake for 5-7 minutes, watching carefully not to burn.  It's not kidding! I think I turned around for one minute, resulting in croutons with a little crisp to them, haha.  Even with the added crunch, they were still really good, with a great flavor.  Thank you Maggie and Donna for great recipes! 

Even with the lack of water, and almost not having enough food, we managed to have dinner ready, eaten and cleaned up by the time we ate dinner the previous night!!  That in itself was a success!  Not to mention all of the food turned out really well!  and the company was unbeatable! Hopefully the progress with continue!

Happy Cooking!