Monday, April 27, 2009

Making the best of what we have


Even without an oven (using a borrowed convection/toaster oven) I was able to put together this awesome onion and cheese pie from The Yummy Mummy. With Trader Joe's pie crust... even though I have made mildly successful crust, I'm still scared to death of it. Next time I'll try the crust, once I have the new range.

And thank goodness for the grill, so we can make this into this: chicken tikka from some magazine that I don't remember clipping it from. The cilantro yogurt sauce was really good.

There's been an awful lot of this the past 6 weeks.....
But WEDNESDAY is the day that Pacific Sales delivers my new Fridgidaire Pro Series range with CONVECTION --- scary! Now, to find an installer.......

Sunday, April 12, 2009

It's dead....


Yes, the POS Amana range has finally kicked the bucket. The oven control panel has been detached for a while, now the "off" button is no longer functioning (I've been using the buttons with wooden spoons... long story, the heat generated has melted the glue on the control panel connections.....

So, I'm ovenless for a bit, and shopping for a new slide-in range. I have the integrated microwave/vent, am not interested in springing for a new vent, so am looking at mid-line ranges, gas, about 2500 max. Reviews seem to be few far between.... if you read this, any advice?? Looking at KitchenAid, Frigidaire, Kenmore? I wish I could afford one of the euro models without any electronic controls so I wouldn't have that problem!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Hobo Cheapo Wednesday (2 days late)

I'm 2 days late for the official Cheap Ass Monday. So sue me, I was too busy enjoying quiz night at the pub with some friends on Monday. We didn't have baseball practice for a change this week, so we took full advantage.


I never understand people that say they don't have time to cook, can't cook, blah blah blah. There is really nothing simpler, or cheaper, than this meal.

I took a 1/2 bag of Trader Joe's white creamer potatoes, cut them in half & boiled for a few minutes. Then drained, tossed with olive oil, and popped in a 450 oven along with a chicken that I picked up at Fresh&Easy on my way home. The chicken already comes neatly trussed with a nifty elastic string, so I just dried it and salt & peppered it. That's it, nothing fancy. That all cooked for more or less an hour until the chicken was done. I put the chicken on a cutting board, and then wilted some garlic and mixed up greens in the same skillet I roasted the chicken in until tender, about 10 mins or so, yes in the chicken fat and juices.
Carved up the chicken and put it all on the platter together. Tres gourmet, yes? And it took a bit over an hour. Cost: $1.15 for the potatoes ($2.29 for a bag, I used half the bag), chicken $4.85 ($1.19 a lb), greens about $2.29 or so a bag (I forget). At any rate, this cost less than $8, and fed 3 with leftovers so would have fed 4. You would spend more if you went to In-n-Out Burger.... mmmm... grilled onions.... but I digress. Cook this at home, it is delicious and easy, and light on the wallet.

Spring in a bowl....


A quick & easy soup night hit -- cream of asparagus soup. Which goes to show how much I loooooovvvvveeeee my immersion blender. Simply some home made chicken stock, leftover asparagus chopped up, blended with a touch of cream, and the tips added to heat through. Yum! Although, next time I will strain......