Promises, promises

It has been a crazy week.
Our new little doggie had her girly surgery on Monday and didn't do at all well with recovery.
Here it is Thursday and I am just now gaining my life back.
In bits and pieces.
I feel out of whack and off.
I decided to go ahead and post anyway, seeing as how it is real life and some days you just get what you get.
So, if it is less than wonderful writing today...blame it on the dog!
Having her snoozing in her happy place crate next to me at the computer, unable to wander about helps bunches!!

Guess what??
In my efforts to get off of the boring road of cooking that I have been traveling lately...I bought some new things at the grocery store.
For instance...
How many times have you seen a chef on Food Network bust out the Panko Bread Crumbs?
Well, if you don't happen to watch Food Network like some foodie nerds around here, you may have never even heard of Panko.
I see it all the time.
I always think...I wish I had Panko at my house so I could make that.
Well, now I do!!
Now, if only I could remember what they were cooking.
Well, when the opportunity presents itself, I will have them.

And then I chose Chilpoltle Peppers in Adobo sauce. Those chefs are always chopping up those peppers and dropping them in all kinds of yummy looking dishes.
I just bet if I google Rachel Ray, there will be plenty of recipes to choose from there.

The last new item...Pablano peppers.
Just to look at their lovely dark green shapes makes me happy.
My kids were amazed at this new gorgeous pepper.
"What is this??" they proclaimed.
(It was like the first time they saw an onion at a friends house...just raw wonder at this never before seen item.)
I am trying to figure out a recipe which these kids will eat, but will please my desire to have some sort of fantastic creation!!
A layered enchilada casserole?
A stuffed pepper?
A chicken and pepper sauce over rice?
Actually, I think what I will do, is just cook what I think sounds yummiest and they can all deal with it!!!
Insert evil Chef Jen laugh here... Bwaaahaaahaaaa ha ha.

I am not being cruel here, I had an epiphany the other day!

I chose to make Shepard's Pie the day of the doggie surgery, because I knew I could prep it ahead of time and pop it in the oven. I filled it with lean ground beef, carrots, corn, green beans, peas, and a yummy tomato based sauce, topped with mashed potatoes and some cheddar...you know, classic full meal in a bowl!
I figured my kids would all just push it around their plates and fuss about how awful it was.
Not so...

They all thanked me for making a meal and acknowledged that it was a satisfactory effort based on the notion that I was trying to be a good pet owner; taking care of one very upset puppy, while still taking the time to put a decently healthy meal on the table.

So, I think the time has come to branch out from safe, kid friendly meals and head down the road of experimenting with new flavors and ingredients.
If they don't like something, I can just blame it on the dog!!!

Here are some other things that I am planning to do, when the time and energy present themselves.

I want to try the recipes from the back of the King Arthur flour packages.
*No-knead 100% whole wheat bread
and
*The very best fudge brownies ever (My oldest son found this recipe and put it in a place of prominence while making hearty speculations about how wonderful brownies would be. Subtle!)

I also want to make and record for you (finally) that recipe for wonderful pizza crust that I promised ages ago.

And, a friend of mine gave me some spices that are calling to me to be experimented with.
Just what does one use sumac for???
I plan to find out and tell ya about that.

In a bit I am gonna sneak downstairs and try this recipe for Peanut Butter Balls which I was happy to run across at Chocolate Broccoli, a new blog I am enjoying. This was the topic of her blog entry this morning. I am also gonna try a version with chocolate peanut butter and a dash of vanilla. This recipe calls for powdered milk, which I normally don't have on hand, but happened to purchase the other day because the aforementioned wheat bread recipe calls for it. Nice how things work out like that, right??

So much to do, so little time.
I need a nap!