The Lesbian Domestic Housewife (Mistral's Kitchen)

Other blogs

Mistral — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:45:18 +0000

One last thing… Once the baby comes, I will be posting baby related things here:

http://alittlemonkey.wordpress.com/

and my wife has a blog too, although she blogs less frequently than I.

http://dc4life24.wordpress.com/

Hopefully, we will get back on track soon!

I’m back!

Mistral — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:39:35 +0000

It has been a long time since I’ve posted, too long if you ask me. However, I have a good reason. I’m pregnant, 37 weeks pregnant! I’ve had an interesting pregnancy to say the least! I didn’t have much difficultly getting pregnant, just a couple of IUI’s and a couple of different anonymous sperm donors (Thank you sperm bank)! But actual pregnancy has been quite difficult for me.
• Eventually, I will write a full detailed account of all the trauma’s of my pregnancy, but I am still processing all the events of my pregnancy, so in short:
• I started dry heaving before I even got a + pregnancy test
• By 5 weeks pregnant, I was vomiting
• By 7 weeks pregnant, I was vomiting a lot
• I was diagnosed with hyperemesis
• I spent a total of 42 days in the hospital
• I had 30 days of home care
• I got a PICC line and it got infected with staph and yeast of the blood
• I had a blood transfusion, magnesium, and potassium and iron infusion
• I am allergic to the iron infusion in nearly died
• The doctor told me on several occasions that the baby could die
• I have had contractions since 25 weeks pregnant
• I have had painful contractions since 36.5 weeks pregnant
• I am 37 weeks and still vomiting and am ready to have this baby
• I am pregnant with a girl
• I want the baby to come any time after Oct 4th
• I am due on Oct 17th
Now that the cat is out of the bag, I plan on making some freezer meals this week and hopefully having a baby and getting this blog restarted.

I’m alive

Mistral — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:32:13 +0000

I’m alive and have exciting news to share! However, that exciting news will have to wait until June 1st when I go back to work. I’ve been very sick and in the hospital a lot, but it’s for a good reason. I just want to let work know first. Boy will they be in for a suprise when I get back. I’ve been sick since the beginning of Feb!

Menu Planning Week 3

Mistral — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:45:44 +0000

Lunch: Chili

Dinner:

Monday: Red Thai Curry Chicken

Tuesday: Out with friends

Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin and mushroom pilaf

Thursday: Chicken Piccata and wild rice

Friday: Tacos and Shrimp Quesadillas

Sat and Sun : Whole Chicken and risotto

Update

Mistral — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:39:32 +0000

I haven’t forgotten about the blog. My wife has been have dietary issues and is under strict doctors orders to not eat a lot of things, since she can’t eat many things i’ve been unable to blog… But I might be posting red curry chicken here soon, so keep checking!

-Mistral

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Creamy Parmesan Cream Sauce

Mistral — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:03:42 +0000

I’ve never had Chicken Cordon Bleu before, but I’ve always wanted to try it. Whenever I came across the recipe online or in a book, for some reason, I was always intimidated by it. But, I manned up, and finally gave it a try. Not only was it easy to make, but it was yummy too! The Parmesan cream sauce is delicious as well, and I could not imagine eating this dish without it.

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Creamy Parmesan Cream Sauce
4 chicken breasts, pounded thin- about 1/2 inch thick
4 slices of deli ham
4 slices of swiss cheese
salt & pepper
flour
2 eggs
1 T water
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/2 C panko bread crumbs
1 tsp dried thyme

Pre-heat oven to 375°

Pound the chicken thin, to about 1/2 inch thickness. Be careful not to tear the chicken. (Note: my chicken looked slightly mangled after Brian was finished pounding it. Oops. But it still worked)

Season the inside of each breast with salt and pepper. Layer the ham & swiss on the chicken breasts and roll them up tightly. Secure with a toothpick. Place each rolled breast into a lightly oiled pan.

Mix the egg w/the water and place in a small bowl. Place the flour in another bowl and in a third bowl mix both styles of breadcrumbs with the thyme.

Dredge each breast through the flour, then dip in the egg, then coat with bread crumbs. Place back in the pan to bake.

Bake for 40 minutes, turning on the broiler for the last minute.

Creamy Parmesan Sauce

1 T butter
1-2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/2-3/4 C heavy cream
1/2 T cornstarch
splash of white wine
salt & pepper
~1/3 C shredded parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan, then sauté the garlic for a minute or two. Add in a splash of wine and continue to simmer for another 1-2 minutes.

Whisk together the half-and-half with the cornstarch. Slowly pour into the sauce pan and mix until it is smooth and thickened.

Add the cheese, salt and pepper to the sauce pan and cook until melted.

Drizzle the sauce over the breasts just before serving.

Ground Turkey Chili

Mistral — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:23:31 +0000

Chili is one of the foods that everyone should have at least twice in the winter, it’s such a warm and filling food filled with protein. I’m not a fan of ground beef, I much prefer the taste and texture of ground turkey. Everyone has their own chili techniques, and one of the techniques of my wife’s family is to bake cornbread right on top of the chili. It’s delicious.

I have two kinds of ground turkey chili, quick chili and award winning chili, yes, I won a chili award.

Posted below is my quick chili recipe as I didn’t want to dedicate the time to make my award winning chili, but I promise to one day post my famous award winning chili.

Ground Turkey Chili

1 package organic ground turkey

2 tbsp Chili powder

1 tbsp Cumin powder

1 tbsp Garlic powder

1 tbsp Onion powder

1tsp Red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp Red pepper

2 garlic cloves (smashed and diced)

2 cans organic fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 can organic pinto beans

1 can organic kidney beans

1 cup organic low sodium chicken broth

1 cup of organic red wine (Spanish wine)

Ground turkey, and season to taste (I use salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes). Once ground in a large pot (oven safe) add the ground meat, chili, garlic and onion powder, red pepper and flakes, garlic cloves, the tomatoes, chicken broth, wine, and beans (un-drained). Let simmer for 2 hours. During last 15 minutes preheat oven to 375 and make your favorite cornbread recipe.

Pour cornbread mixture over chili and put into the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Let cool 10 minutes and dig in.

Pictures to be updated soon.

Chicken Pot Pie

Mistral — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:55:27 +0000

As a child growing up, I have fond memories of eating chicken pot pie. It was an easy do it yourself meal. You just take pot pie out of the freezer, into the oven, and voila, dinner. As an adult, during the college years, I started eating vegetarian “chick” pot pies, and after college, I went back to eating meat again, but somehow forgot about chicken pot pie, until I went apple picking. We went to a wonderful apple farm in Amesbury, MA during the fall, and while gorging on freshly picked apples and apple cider donuts, we purchased a frozen turkey pot pie to enjoy at a later date. Boy was that pie good!

Recently, while I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Annie’s Eat’s, she made chicken pot pie, she inspired me to give it a try. While, I didn’t exactly follow her recipe, I went to another site, I did make the pot pie, and it was delicious. The wife called it a success and even went for seconds! Needless to say, I will be making this again, and again, and again.

Chicken Pot Pie

Adapted from Allrecipes (I made several adaptations and will write this as I made it)

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cubed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
2 large potatoes peeled and cubed
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup soy milk (we used soy milk, and the sweetness had zero affect on the taste)
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts (I used the kind you roll out in my own pie pan)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add 1 ½ cups of chicken broth to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Slowly stir in remaining chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside. (add more flour to thicken if needed)
Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Menu Planning Week 2

Mistral — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:31:13 +0000

Menu Planning – Week two

I didn’t get around to cooking the Parmesan crusted chicken for dinner last week. I also never cooked the chili and as the Boeuf Bourguignon lasted all week long. So, I’m going to carry over the Chili this week.

This week in the Mistral kitchen, we will be having:

Breakfast:

Toast and banana or oatmeal or eggs or bacon and eggs

Lunch:

Ground turkey chili w/ cornbread

Dinner:

Sunday – Chicken Pot Pie

Monday – Leftovers

Tuesday – Chicken Cordon Bleu w/ carrots

Wednesday – Soy ginger lime shrimp w/ chicken pilaf

Thursday –Ground turkey Potato Spuds

Friday – Pasta a la Vodka

Saturday – Chicken Piccata w/ buttered peas

Total spent this week: $109.04*

*We spent more this, as we had to replenish the beverages in the house, and the wife insisted on snacks, so I insisted that they be organic.

Total spent to date: $179.80

Lo Mein

Mistral — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:17:00 +0000

Lo mein is one of my favorite things to order while getting Chinese food. I could seriously eat it every day if you let me, but alas, the calories. Nonetheless, I figured it is better for me to make lo mein at home, as I can control the salt and more importantly, no MSG.

My photography sucks, bear with me, I will figure it out.

Recipe adapted from

Annie’s Eats who adapted from Elly Says Opa!

Chicken Lo Mein (without the chicken)

Ingredients:
6 oz. lo mein noodles
1 tbsp. oyster sauce (doubled)
2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tbsp. canola oil
1 medium chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces (I omitted and added carrots and spinach)
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin (I omitted and added carrots and spinach)
1 cup snow peas (I omitted and added carrots and spinach)
4 oz. sliced mushrooms (I omitted and added carrots and spinach)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. sesame oil

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook the lo mein noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. In the meantime, make the sauce by combining the oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken broth and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Whisk well and set aside.

Heat the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook until browned and cooked through. Add in the vegetables, each a few minutes apart, starting with the onion and bell pepper and ending with the mushrooms. Cook just until tender-crisp. Add in the garlic and saute just until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the sauce to the pan, and then the cooked lo mein noodles. Toss the mixture well to coat everything. Drizzle with the sesame oil and toss once more. Serve immediately.