Cooking & Conversation: June 2012

Graham's 3rd Birthday

My little grandson, Graham, just celebrated his 3rd birthday.

Grandpa and Grandma made a trip to Indiana to help him celebrate.

Of course, we had to make something delicious together for his special

birthday party. He loves Kung Fu Panda, and that was the theme of his party.

He is one of my favorite cooks. We had a great time making this dip.

Graham cooling down from the summer heat.

Graham and Spencer and Dane with Grandma.

Getting ready for the birthday party.

Joining in on the fun.

Getting ready to cook.

Ingredients:

1- 2 lb. box Velveeta cheese
2 cans Hormel Chili with beans
Tostitos Corn chips

Assemble the ingredients.

Cut up the cheese.

Cutting Kung Fu style.

Trying different techniques.

Maybe this will work better.

Just about finished.

Put cheese into crock pot.

Getting a little help from Grandpa.

Grandpa and I like cheese.

Grandpa opening the chili beans.

Add beans to crock pot.

Stir the ingredients together.

Ready to heat up.

Turn crock pot on low and heat
until cheese is melted and beans are hot.
(Remove the mask!)

Enjoy!

Party Pictures

Mom getting the cupcakes ready to frost.

Dad and Mom and Graham.

Another cooking lesson.

This frosting is good.

We are ready to party.

My brothers Spencer and Dane.

My friends.

Do you recognize me?

Carson and Dane.

Lydia and Spencer.

Dad's homemade ice cream.

Ice cream and cake.

Pow the Bad Guys.
(A new take on pin the tail on the donkey.)

Mia powing the bad guys.

Pinata time.

Opening presents.

My new scooter from Grandpa and Grandma.

Yesterday, So-Yeoun and her two sons came over to make a spicy Mexican soup.

It was one of the hottest days we have had, especially for June, with temperatures of 100 degrees.

This soup is good in the winter, and surprisingly, very satisfying in the heat of the summer. With chicken, chilies, tomatoes, fresh lime, cilantro, and garlic, this soup hits the spot anytime.

We made this soup when we first started cooking together last winter.

The flavors are good anytime of year, and So-Yeoun made the comment that she

could eat this everyday. It is definitely a hit anytime.

Ingredients:

1- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
49.5 oz. can chicken broth
1- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
1 Onion chopped
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno
1/2 to 1 New Mexico Hatch Red chile (or any red or hot peppers you chose)
1/2 Fresh lime, juiced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 package dry taco seasoning mix

So-Yeoun and Daniel.
Ready to cook.

The following photos will give a step-by-step

narrative of how to make this soup.

If you have never cooked before, you can follow these

photos and come up with a very successful soup.

Recipes like soup can be adjusted to individual tastes and

flavors. You can also put whatever ingredients you have on hand.

I had leftover roasted chicken and Spanish rice that I added to my tortilla soup.

It gave a good flavor with the additional spices, and had a very good texture.

I also added some left-over tomato juice I had in the refrigerator.

It blended well with the chicken stock that the recipe calls for.

Enjoy cooking, and if you can cook with a friend,

the conversation will be long remembered after the soup is gone.

Assemble ingredients.

Add water to bottom of pan when cooking
chicken breast to prevent sticking and drying out.

Drizzle olive oil on top of chicken.

Add salt.

Season with pepper.

Bake at 350 degree preheated oven
for 35-40 minutes.

Learning how to bake chicken is a must-know for any cook.

Chicken is versatile and can be used in many dishes.

Chomping on a skinless, boneless chicken breast gives you 23 muscle-building grams of protein for the bargain price of a single gram of saturated fat and 110 calories.

Mom is getting ready to cook Daniel's supper.

Assemble onion, garlic, jalapeno, and red chile.

Get ready to chop the vegetables.

Chop
Definition: To cut foods into squares, usually about 1/2" in diameter. The squares do not have to be perfectly equal, but should approximate the same size in order to cook evenly.

Chop 1 onion.

Add chopped onion to soup pan.

Seed and dice 1 jalapeno pepper.

The insides of a jalapeño pepper contain a chemical called capsaicin, which can cause burning in the mouth or on the fingers. Wear gloves when chopping jalapenos. We did not use gloves and had a burning on our skin from the oils in the jalapeno. We used a cream from our first aid kit that contained aloe vera, and the burning went away. You can go on line to learn more about remedies from your kitchen to relieve the burning from the oils.

Aloe gel, made from the central part of the aloe leaf, is a common household remedy for minor cuts and burns. It is a good plant to grow in your kitchen windowsill to rub on your skin and use for minor burns.

Today, I was reminded that I need to get an aloe vera plant for my kitchen.