Pamper Yourself.....with a Jalapeno Omelette

I was dining alone one night and I really wanted an omelette. Not just because I wanted to eat one. I really wanted to make one because they are fun to make. (We had a good portion of leftover chicken chili in the fridge, so I wasn't sure if I should. I should just eat the chili, really.) Then I thought: Why not? I can make a version of "huevos rancheros"--omelette style.

The result was very pleasing aesthetically and the flavor was fabulous. So I started thinking about a lot of things. I enjoy pampering others with wonderful food from the kitchen. Why not pamper myself sometimes? We all should. Instead of getting dinner together in a slapdash fashion when dining alone--make it fancy once in a while. Pretend you are "The Chef" and you are preparing a meal for royalty. Actually, pretend you are making it for someone special, because you are! (I must add: I consider all recipients of my kitchen creations as royalty. Special and royalty.)

I just have to add: Hey, this lovely meal was made using leftovers!! Isn't this far better than going through the drive-thru at a fast-food restaurant? Honey, does a chicken poop in the coop? HELL YEAH!

So here it is, a lovely jalapeno omelette. Fresh jalapeno (small dice) was added to the beaten eggs before cooking. You can see the Monterrey Jack cheese that's inside the omelette peeking out, like a movie teaser clip.

The omelette is topped with leftover homemade chicken chili. The chicken was freshly ground thighs from Whole Foods. There was no "eau de dishrag" odor when the chicken was cooking. (That happens with ground poultry sometimes, but not when the ground poultry is fresh and organically grown.)

Topping the chili: a little grated Tillamook Cheddar and some more diced, fresh jalapeno. Serve with your choice of tortillas--in this case, two white corn tortillas.

It was a very good supper. I recommend that you try this at home. Less than 10 minutes and you gots a great meal, Y'all!!! WOO!! :)

Jalapeno Omelette

Let Them Eat Cake....(and Torte)....Ha ha ha!

I have been away too long. It started with computer issues and then just grew into a need to be unplugged for a while...a vacation from technology. At least for the most part. So now I have a lot of catching up to do.

I had the privilege of making a cake for a party for my cousin and a friend. Originally there was going to be one cake but since there were some bananas that were about to commit suicide, I ended up making 2 cakes. Well, one was a torte, actually.

The chocolate torte was nothing that fancy--the fillings were simple:  chocolate pastry cream and seedless raspberry preserves. The frosting was a simple combination of whipped cream folded into the remainder of the pastry cream. I needed something for the top and simply grated some chocolate over it. Believe me, I would have used chocolate sprinkles if there were any in the cabinet.

Go ahead and laugh. Yeah, chocolate sprinkles. Sprinkles are fun, especially the rainbow-colored ones. I don't think anyone is ever too old for sprinkles.

For the banana cake, which I dubbed, "Banana Pudding Cake," I just added plain pastry cream on the bottom layer and added some banana slices before topping with the second layer. I iced it with fresh whipped cream and crushed some vanilla wafers for a little extra decoration.

I admit that I could have been neater but I was tired after cooking all day and I don't have one of those nifty turntables that make cake decorating so easy. Maybe I can use the old stereo turntable for that purpose...hey, it's electric too. Wooooo! Fancy!! Ha ha!

But then, I am my own worst critic. I guess I'll just have to borrow a saying that a chef I know likes to use: They are rustic. Ha ha!! Yes, they are!

The flavor of each dessert made everyone happy, including the birthday boy and girl. Both the torte and the cake had a very light flavor....they weren't overbearingly sweet. That's always a good thing.

Well, I have gabbed enough for one evening. Here are the pictures of the birthday goodies....oh wait, just one more thing--I regret that I didn't get shots of individual slices but it was a long day of cooking for me. I did the whole menu on this day.

Okay, here they are.

As always......Happy Eating!! 

 

Chocolate Torte

 

 

Banana Puddin' Cake
 



Fried Rice...One Bowl is Never Enough!

I made some beautiful fried rice for supper the other night. With rice this good, do you really need anything else? No, but if you want to add a nice side salad to go with it, that's okay, too. Gee, I wish I had some right now but I ate all of it in less than a day (for breakfast, lunch & supper). I guess another batch is in order. Sounds like a great idea to me! :)

Fried Rice with Napa Cabbage & Baby Bok Choy

Coleman Organic Chicken

Look at the gorgeous bird below...it's a Coleman Organic Chicken! Recently I published a product review about this beautiful chicken, which can be seen here:

Coleman Organic Chicken

Coleman Organic Chicken--Ready for Service

A Few Words about Chicken Nuggets....

Last week my cousin offered me a sample of some chicken nuggets that she'd purchased at a local fast food restaurant. I'm not going to mention any names here but one of the main colors used by this establishment is orange. The other is white. 

I bit into a chicken nugget. At first chew, it tasted okay and I was pleased to see that appeared to be made with real pieces of chicken, rather than the "mechanically separated" and "glued back together" version. 

I hadn't finished chewing completely before the horror struck my taste buds. Whatever they use in the batter for these nuggets tastes extremely bad--they're too salty, for one, but the chemical aftertaste was far worse.  Whoever had this "bright idea" for a recipe should have to go to a chicken farm and clean out the chicken coops for a week! Terrible! Awful! Yuck! 

I am disappointed in this establishment. These were some of the worst chicken nuggets I've ever tasted, and that includes the ones that don't use whole chicken pieces. I think they should remove them from the menu post-haste.

I might not have noticed if I had dipped them in any sauces first, but I doubt it. It could be that my taste buds just won't tolerate this kind of junk anymore...I eat fast food on VERY rare occasions, so my palate is not subjected to a lot of processed food. 

I used to eat burgers from this establishment occasionally, but I haven't in many years. The last time I did, they were still making burgers to order. They were okay. Nothing to dance in the street about, but okay. I think they should stick to burgers, really. 

Maybe I'm not being fair and I should give these nuggets another chance. I ate a total of four...all that my cousin had left in her box that she didn't want to eat. I guess I should have asked her the real reason she didn't finish them. I only ate them because I didn't want to seem rude by refusing her offer. Mistake! But I do hate to waste food and I certainly wouldn't have fed those things to any animals....so I went ahead and took a bullet. (Four of them, to be exact). 

Should I give them another chance? Not on my wallet!