Not Everything Goes As Planned... A.K.A. - A Disaster Area!

I was having a great day on Wednesday.  Dinner was ahead of schedule, the kids were happy, we had some friends over, and the dreaded caterpillars were gone.  Feeling as content as I was, I did something without thinking and created a gigantic mess!

Let me back up...

I was making Cafe Rio Beef (recipe here).  It was looking lovely, and I decided I should really make some beans to go along with it.  I found a recipe for Cafe Rio Beans (recipe here), but I didn't have canned black beans.  I did, however, have dry black beans and a pressure cooker.  I've pressure cooked dried beans many times, and they've always turned out well.

So I go along my merry way making the beans.  The timer went off, and I turned off the heat.  I don't know what I was thinking, but rather than release some of the pressure from the pot or let it cool sufficiently, I decided to press the button the unlocks the pot.  If there's still some built up pressure, it will release it and allow me to open the pan. 

Well, I learned the hard way that this is a VERY BAD THING to do (without releasing some pressure first)!  I didn't have any explosion or anything like that, but as the pressure cooker was releasing the pressure in the pan, liquid came out.  Dark brown liquid. 

A LOT OF IT! 

All over my counters, the tile back splash, the stove, and the tile floor.  And all over me.  No burns or anything, but it made a big, BIG mess!  Actually the word "Big" does not even begin to describe it. 

Michael insisted on taking a picture "for the blog."  I was a little unhappy about it at the time (and I definitely was not planning to blog about it), but I think it is appropriate to capture the "not so fun" moments, so we can laugh about them later.

So here it is.  Please keep in mind that this does not even begin the capture the horror I was feeling in the moment.  The liquid was seeping across the stove and the counters, pouring onto the floor, spewing all over me.  As it seeped across the stove, the liquid was going into the area under the control knobs.  It was not a fun moment. 

A few minutes prior (to this picture), I was begging the kids to help by grabbing some bath towels, while mopping up what I could with paper towels (I went through the rest of the roll and it didn't even make a dent.)  They were AWESOME and ran to the rescue! 

We stopped the spread of the mess and cleaned it up.  (YEAH!  Thanks, boys!)  Then we realized that all the electric ignition (pilot light) for the stove (on every burner) were going off continually.  I googled the problem and read that this can happen when they get wet.  So I dried them off thinking that would help.

No luck...

So I tried turning on all the burners, thinking it would dry out faster if they were on.  No luck.  I read that sometimes it helps to turn off the breaker and then turn it back on.  No luck.

When John arrived home, he found someone who said you need to turn the breaker off for 24 hours, then turn it back on (after it's dried out), and that should fix the problem.  STILL NO LUCK!

I was getting worried.  We have a cooktop range, and it is quite pricey to replace.  Last night, I was so stressed about it when I went to bed, that I prayed about it.  I woke up still stressed. 

Well, the breaker for the cooktop is the same one for the microwave, and one of the boys needed to heat something up in it, so Michael went outside and turned it on. 

Lo and behold, I witnessed a miracle!  My stove was fixed!  No more incessant clicking!  No more guilt about ruining my cooktop!  I gave Michael a huge hug and called John with the good news. 

We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for helping us and blessing us with a functioning stove! 

Peanut Brittle Step-By-Step

Well, not really step-by-step, because I'm not including the recipe.  I made peanut brittle for David, because he made a specific request for it.  And who am I to not support my missionary?  So here are the pictures of me making peanut brittle.

Homemade Oreos

My good friend, Jenny, gave me her recipe for Homemade Oreos after my kids begged me to get it from her. They have become a favorite at our house. I made some for the bake sale at AJ's elementary school a couple weeks ago.

If you can't tell from this picture, I let AJ lick the bowl. I know it's probably a bad thing (salmonella and all), but he enjoyed it!






Here's the finished product!



And here's the recipe:

Homemade Oreos

2 chocolate cake mixes

4 eggs

2 sticks butter, softened

Mix ingredients together with beaters. Roll in balls. Cook at 350 for 10 minutes. Drop pan to flatten cookies; cool.

Frosting:

4 cups powdered sugar

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

Mix ingredients together with beaters. Frost one cookie, and top with another cookie.

Warm Roasted Pepper and Artichoke Spread

Several people have asked for the recipe for the dip I blogged about here. I've listed it below.

1 c grated parmesan cheese
½ c mayonnaise (regular, non-fat, or low-fat)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 medium garlic clove
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
1/3 c finely chopped roasted red bell peppers (from 7.25-oz jar)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In food processor bowl with metal blade, combine parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, cream cheese and garlic. Process until smooth.

2. Place mixture in a large bowl. Add artichoke hearts and roasted peppers; mix well. Spread in ungreased 9-inch quiche dish or glass pie pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

4. Serve warm with assorted crackers, cocktail bread slices, or cut-up fresh vegetables.

Indian Food!

Several people have asked for my Chicken Tikka Masala recipe, so here it is. It's one of my favorite foods ever! I'm also throwing in my recipe for Gobi Alu (Potato and Cauliflower). Enjoy! (Hint: You can buy most of these spices in the average grocery store, but they are a lot less expensive at an Indian grocery store. I have started buying other spices there as well, because the value is incredible. It's even better than Costco or Sam's Club, in most cases.


Chicken Tikka Masala

Adapted from a recipe from Recipezaar.com recipe by Hey Jude

Marinade
1 c plain yogurt
2 T lemon juice
2 t ground cumin
½ t ground red pepper (or more if you like it spicy, up to 2 t)
2 t fresh ground black pepper
1 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1 piece gingerroot, minced (½ inch long. I grate mine. Many grocery stores have minced or grated ginger available in a jar in the produce department.)
1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes (thawed. I use chicken breast tenders for easy cooking, as you can do this without cutting them at all.)

Sauce
1 T unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced (you can use the jarred minced garlic available in the produce section)
1 jalapeno chile minced (if you don’t want it to be too hot, remove the seeds and the membranes. I double this recipe and use 1 jalapeno for the entire dish)
2 t ground coriander
1 t ground cumin
1 t paprika
1 t garam masala (you can get this at any Indian food store)
½ t salt
1 - 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup whipping cream (You can use half and half, whole milk or a fat free cream)
¼ c chopped fresh cilantro (you don’t have to use this if you don’t like it or if you don’t have it)

For marinade, combine all ingredients (except chicken) in a medium bowl or food-safe plastic bag; stir in chicken, marinate in refrigerator 1 hour. Meanwhile, soak six 6-inch bamboo skewers in water to cover 30 minutes and set aside.

For sauce, melt butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, add garlic and jalapeno; cook 1 minute. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala, and salt. Stir in tomato sauce, simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat grill to medium-high heat (or heat broiler, I use the broiler.) Remove chicken from refrigerator and thread chickn onto skewers; discard marinade. Grill or broil chicken, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Remove chicken from skewers and add to sauce. Simmer 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Serve with basmati rice, naan, or pita bread. (I serve this with our regular rice, jasmine rice, and it is very good. Trader Joe’s sells frozen naan, an Indian flat bread, that tastes pretty good. My favorite part of eating this is dipping the naan in the sauce.)


Gobi Alu

Adapted from recipe by Zeke Koch on Recipezaar.com

1 head cauliflower (flowerets cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
2 medium boiling potatoes (3/4lb, cut into ½ inch cubes)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1-2 dried hot red chili pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala


1. Heat the oil in a large 12 to 14 inch skillet.
2. When the oil is smoking, scatter in the fenugreek, fennel, cumin and red peppers.
3. Stir once and add the cauliflower and potatoes.
4. Stir lightly until coated with spices and oil.
5. Turn heat down to medium.
6. Add turmeric, ground coriander, salt and pepper.
7. Sauté for 8–10 minutes.
8. Add 1/2 cup water and cover immediately.
9. Turn heat very low and steam vegetables for 7-10 minutes (until tender).
10. Turn heat up to medium-low and vent lid (don't remove, but allow some steam to escape). Cook until the liquid is combined with vegetables. 11. Sprinkle the garam masala over the vegetables, stir once and serve.