Chowhound chicken TND and rainy day sloppy joes

Alas, still no stampeding allowed for Little Rhino. The good news is that the Sole Doctor did not see any fracture on my x-ray on Monday. The bad news is that I need to get a bone scan next Monday because it could be a Jones fracture (I'm soo peeved it's the same metatarsal I broke in 2004) which is pretty awful. Pleassssse wish me luck!! Rhino misses her running and feels rounder by the day. Arrrrr-gh!
Thankfully, I can still put together a tasty TND. This week, I made some super easy honey mustard chicken from chowhound.com and smoky chipotle cornbread (not bad..but not cornbread enough for Miss Rhino). Along with Andrea's homemade guacamole, a joint Anders and Elizabeth salad, and Wes' AMAZING coconut pie, it was a very very tasty Tuesday.
In other news, this week I started cross-training with a different division at work. Honestly, so far I've done hardly anything other than going on a field trip to view UnAmerican Activities Commission Records in the stacks and reading the NARA Guide Book on the Records on the House of Representatives. Hot stuff.

The cross-training also lets me work my own hours. So, I'm saying goodbye to NARA nights for a while (unless I'm offered OT) and I can eat dinner at home (!!). Tonight, after a cold and windy day, I cooked up a sloppy joe dinner. It probably could have fed two people, but it only fed one Rhino. Rhino may be out of the running, but her appetite is still going strong. Oh dear, my waistline better watch out!

Up next: cranberry date bars for Chester's birthday (my co-worker not my sister's dog)

Bratwurst and Butternut Squash Stew TND

This summer when I felt down, I kept telling myself that at least I still could run and cook. Well, now all I have is my cooking and the thought that I may want to be a pirate for Halloween. ARRR, MATEY!!

Anyway, since the official start of Fall, I've been itching to fit Fall foods and butternut squash in particular into a TND. I browsed many sites and finally decided that Aida Mollencamp's stew on chow.com fit my autumn comfort food criteria perfectly(with my white bean and spice add-ons). So, I chopped up veggies like crazy on Monday afternoon, cooked up a massive mound of stew that night, and then lobbed my dutch oven into my fridge for the next night.

TND, I popped that sucker on the stove, turned up the heat, and voila! Bratwurst and butternut squash stew!! Mmm..mmm.mmm...At least I can still cook!

When Life Goes Bad, I Make Roasted Vegetable Pasta and Brownies

Rhino hurt one of her hooves last week, so she's not too happy. At least, I can still cook. For TND, I made a HUGE pot of roasted vegetable pasta using five containers of tomatoes, three squash, three zucchinis, and three pounds of pasta. It was big and delicious.

Later in the week, I doctored up some Betty Crocker brownie mix with semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips and heath bar chunks for a co-worker's birthday. They went so fast the next day that I never got to try them and I never told people about the "help" I got in the kitchen ( ;

Chili and Super Chunk Cookies FTW

Apologies for my lack of foodie entries of late. In lieu of a TND post, last weekend, when nothing seemed to be going Rhino's way, I made Ellie Krieger's Confetti Chili as seen on the Today Show. The first night, it was okay but rather bland, so I doctored it up with more cumin, chili powder, garam marsala, and various other spices. BETTER even if my weekend still sucked.

Luckily, this past weekend ROCKED!! I conquered the Ragnar Relay with my 11 teammates (and ate lots of pb and j along the way as well as a much appreciated spaghetti dinner). Over three legs, I ran 22.9 miles (9.2 miles, 4.8 miles, and 8.9 miles) and kicked ass with my awesome RagNarwhal Team!! When I got home on Saturday night, I slept for 13 hours. WORD.

The next afternoon, I got to see Sar Sar!!! She loves cookies, so we made Super Chunky Cookies courtesy of my Taste of Home baking book. SOOO rich and sweet and Sara loved them! Mmm, it's good to be back in the kitchen ( :

Up next: Roasted Vegetable Pasta!!

Poultry Comfort TND

I prepped TND's poppy seed chicken on Sunday, so I could just stick it in the oven on Tuesday and it was warm and bubbly in about thirty minutes. I try to prep in advance just for convenience sake, but after a sad and disappointing Tuesday afternoon, having the chicken ready to go felt especially good.

Taste of Home recipes can be rather hit or miss, I definitely liked this one though. It took a minimal amount of time to put together and tasted like pure poultry comfort food (my guests thoroughly agreed as well judging from the measly leftovers). The dinner could not completely counteract the rest of the day, but at least it softened the blow.

Labor of Love Chowder TND

I enjoyed a very busy and fun weekend yet again! On Friday night post-work, Elizabeth and I drove down to Yorktown (her home turf). On Saturday we picked up our race packets, beached, and consumed many carbs (yum!). Then, Sunday morning, we ran the Virginia Beach Rock 'N' Roll Half-Marathon. WOOOOHOOO!!! Sooooo much fun and I shocked myself with my speed (not crazy fast, but fast for Miss Rhino). Elizabeth and I agreed that finishing on a beach boardwalk beats a parking lot finish anytime.. especially when rocket pops, P.F. Chang's, and an obscene amount of swag line the beach's post-finish area ( ; We also agreed that 64W traffic jams bite (freakin' fires in tunnels) particularly when you're tired, hungry, and stinky after running 13.1 miles. Thankfully, after a Sonic lunch (thank you Elizabeth's mom and grandma!), a refreshing shower (ah!), and a pit stop @ Carl's in Fredericksburg on our way back to NOVA, I forgot my earlier hunger... for a few hours. Awesome trip!!

Monday, after a quick visit with parents Rhino, I set about plotting out and preparing TND. First, I chopped up many, many different vegetables for my andouille sausage, corn, and shrimp chowder and prepped the soup up to its final cream and shrimp blend in point. Then I made Food Network Magazine's cheddar biscuit recipe only leaving the garlic butter step for Tuesday. So much cooking and baking, so I just had a quick tuna sandwich for dinner.. and some leftover Cosi chips (mmmm).

Though only seven people came to TND, only two biscuits and less than half a serving of chowder remained at night's end ( :

In other foodie developments, I've discovered another delicious "dinner" option for my late days at work. Baked potato delights!! Wednesday, I popped a surplus chowder potato poked up, oiled, and salted into a 400 degree oven. Post-run (and coming home to a tasty-smelling apartment), I covered it a Rhino-made black bean mixture, packed up a single serving cottage cheese, and some salsa, and voila! DINNER (really even easier than its description). Miss Rhino thinks this may become a new long run day ritual...Maybe just a fall lazy "dinner" option. Screw Potato Valley Cafe's half-ass hours!


Bonus food photo of the week: Jessika's mint chocolate pudding Oreo dessert.

There Will Be Meat TND/ Happy Birthday Ben Edition

For Ben's birthday TND of choice, he demanded MEAT. After I offered him a menu of carnivorous choices, he picked Swedish meatballs (courtesy of Tyler Florence) and a coconut lime gateau recipe that I found in my British cookbook, The Cook's Companion by Carole Clements. Ben may have his faults, but the boy does have good taste.

I tried to lessen my load by dividing and conquering the dinner's different components. On Sunday pre- Julie and Julia/crepes, I mixed up the pork/beef, spice, herb, etc. meatball mixture. Post- brunchfest, I rolled them into shaped and cooked four pounds of meatballs up. It was a full three pan affair. Mmmm.


Monday morning, I whipped up the coconut lime gateau and christened by newly acquired star pan (thank you Wes!). After surviving pre-grad class spazzing and snarfing down a sizable meal back at my roost, I concocted some coconut butter cream frosting and decorated the cake. Better still, the frosting stayed together!

With nearly all the prep done, I simply put together a quick sauce Tuesday night, added the meatballs, and let it all warm through. The result: Savory Swedish meatball success (great leftovers too) and a much-loved cake (not bad looking either).

So far, next TND remains undecided, but with a long weekend ahead, I'm hoping to make something extra-exciting ( :

Cupcake update: I rewarded myself with Lavender Moon's peanut butter devil's food cupcake after my first grad class. Mmm.. lots of peanut butter frosting, moist chocolate cake, I liked it best of the bunch. I still want to try their lemon curd filled vanilla bean though....