Scott Chester

I must start off by saying how beautiful it was today! It was almost 90 yesterday and yet the high today was 78. It was 68 at 6 o’clock this afternoon when I was debating about turning on the AC. Had I known it wasn’t going to get above 78, I probably never would have closed the windows. We are currently 7 degrees below normal - It’s 54 outside at 11 at night. I think it is going to be a beautiful night and I’m going to sleep quite well. It was 69 downstairs when I closed the windows!

I went for a bikeride this morning for the first time since I moved here. I think it had been a while before then as well. It was really good, although I probably pushed myself a little harder than I should have. It is totally different riding around here, it’s so flat! I’m not used to pedaling on flat ground for so long. In Fallbrook you get breaks all the time. Yeah, you work hard to get up a hill, but then you get to rest as you come down the other side. I went down to Harveston to drop my speedlight off at Kristin’s and then went by the office. I did some exploring around there, were I found these random markings behind the industrial buildings on the other side of the street. Actually, it was just to the side of New Life Church. I found a little passageway from one side to the other, so I guess we have less of chance of being stranded with one way in. I took some dirt roads up through French Valley Airport and from there to Los Alamos and brought it all the way back to Whitewood. I had always thought it was a dirt road, but the whole thing was paved as far as I could tell. It wasn’t in the best of shape and it is certainly not designed to be a major road, but paved nonetheless.
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I was woken up early this morning and decided instead of going back to bed or sitting around on facebook all morning I’d make something good for breakfast. I knew I had some wheat bread that really needed to disappear (the date was Aug 16!) so I thought some french toast would be good. My theory is, the older the bread, the better the french toast. Although, I think with the right bread it would be great fresh too. Instead of making my usual, I decided to try something new this morning.

French Toast II - Allrecipes

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 4 eggs
* 3/4 cup milk
* 3 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 12 slices white bread
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk, brown sugar and nutmeg; stir well to combine.
2. Soak bread slices in the egg mixture until saturated.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Brown slices on both sides, sprinkle with cinnamon and serve hot.

I made it without the ground nutmeg, cause I couldn’t find any in my house. I started with the griddle preheated to 375, but I think that was maybe a bit too hot. (I can’t seem to find the right temperature on this new girddle for anything, so I’m going to start making notes.) Maybe I let the toast sit too long in the batter cause there really wasn’t enough for 3 pieces when I cut the recipe down to 1 egg. Note to self, next time invite people over so there will be more batter and I can go through more bread. Alas, who would come over at 6 in the morning on a weekday? Heck, who would come over at 6 in the morning any day?

As I have received multiple requests for this recipe, I figure I’d better post it for everyone else who was too shy to ask!

Dot’s Blondies are a mom’s secret weapon | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Dot’s Blondies With Chocolate Chips

Makes 2 dozen

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (plus more for greasing the pan)
• 1 pound (2 cups firmly packed) light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (see note)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch-by-12-inch baking pan well with butter. Set the pan aside.

Melt the two sticks of butter in a 2-quart microwave-safe bowl covered with a paper towel. Remove the bowl from the microwave, and add the brown sugar. Stir well. Add the baking powder, salt and vanilla extract, stirring until completely incorporated. Stir in the flour, again stirring until it is well mixed.

Crack the eggs into a small bowl, and beat them well with a fork or whisk. Add the eggs to the batter and stir with a spoon until they are completely incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips (and the nuts, if using).

Spread the batter in the greased pan. The batter will be stiff and sticky. You may have to spread it to the edges of the pan with the back of a spoon, but don’t worry too much about getting it exactly even, as the batter will spread as it bakes.

Bake until the top begins to get golden brown and the blondies just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 20 to 25 minutes. (Baking time will vary depending on your oven and the type of pan.) Do not overbake. Cool for at least 20 minutes, and cut into small squares. Store in an airtight container or cover well with plastic wrap. These bars freeze very well and improve in flavor after the first day.

Note: To get the proper texture, do not use an electric mixer. You do not need to sift the flour, but spoon the flour into the measuring cup so as not to pack it down too much. Use the spoon handle to brush away extra flour and level the top of the measuring cup.

Start to finish: 7 minutes preparation, plus approximately 20 to 25 minutes baking time and 20 minutes cooling time.

Per blondie: 216 calories (41 percent from fat), 10 g fat (6 g saturated), 38 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 31 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 59 mg sodium.

Note: For the housewarming party I doubled the receipe and put it in an 11 x 13 glass pan I believe. I cooked them for much longer than the intended time, trying to get the inside cooked and pulled them out when the edges and top looked like it couldn’t take any more time in the heat. I also made them the day before as I think they need about 12 hours to cool so they don’t fall apart as you try to eat them. They are great hot out of the oven as well though!

Dinner tonight:

Parmesan Chicken - Allrecipes

It turned out good when Maegan and I made it last week, let’s hope we can do well again tonight.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and basil. In another bowl, beat the egg. Dip chicken into egg, then coat with crumb mixture. In a large skillet, brown chicken in butter and oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

Recipes : Chicken Parmigiana : Food Network

Recipes : Herbed Garlic Bread : Food Network

Batch and I made this tonight for dinner. It was actually quite good, although I must admit we were worried about it. I’m used to eating breaded orange chicken, which this wasn’t. I’m sure it was much healthier this way since it wasn’t deep fried. I think next time I would try some brown sugar in the mix to give it a bit more of a sweet taste and maybe some pineapple chunks in the sauce and served in the final product.

Chicken A La Orange - Allrecipes
INGREDIENTS

* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 2 1/2 cups orange juice
* 3 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1/2 cup hot water
* 3 tablespoons honey
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

DIRECTIONS

1. In a skillet, brown chicken breasts in 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Cook till juices run clear.
2. Add orange juice to the pan. When juice just begins to bubble around the edges of the pan, add corn starch dissolved in hot water. Mix ginger and honey together in a cup, and add to orange juice. Cook until sauce is thick and slightly browned. Serve.

*edit: We also cut the chicken into strips to make it easier to cook. I think the sauce would have taken forever to thicken if it was just the whole breasts in the pan.

We were talking about this today and I found a few recipes that could be worth trying.

From ThriftyFun:

Well, if anyone wants to know, I think I found the Chili’s Skillet Queso recipe.

1-lb Velveeta
1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 pkg Old El Paso taco seasoning
3/4 jar or 8 oz of Old El Paso taco sauce
1/2 can of tomato sauce (small can)
corn chips

Brown hamburger and drain
Mix all ingredients in crock pot
Cook on medium or high until cheese melts (about 90 minutes)
Turn heat to low for serving and Voila!

I haven’t tried this yet, but I FINALLY found this recipe on another site and there were 20+ 5 star reviews and all said, “It tastes exactly like Chili’s version” I sure hope it does, as I have been dinking around for years trying to perfect Chili’s Skillet Queso!

From CDKitchen:

1 brick Kraft Velveeta Cheese (2 lb.)
2 cans Hormel No-Bean Chili

Just heat in together in a crock pot for a few hours or until melted. For the most accurate texture mix sauce in a blender. Serve with heated corn chips.

This recipe from CDKitchen for Chili`s Skillet Queso serves/makes 14