From my kitchen to yers

She says in her best imitation of Paula Deen.
Like Rachael Ray, I used to be a fan of Paula. Now she has just turned into a caricature of herself. All the cackling just grates. And I won't even get into her gratuitous use of butter.
I'd hate to see what her arteries look like.

What does the Food Network do to these once like able TV hosts?
Over exposure, I guess.

I was busy in the kitchen this past week.

That's the way I like it. Keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.

And you know how much trouble a boring suburbanite stay at home mom who only goes to the gym and the grocery store can get into.

Unless you're on Weeds, that is.

Anyway I prepared three different goodies for Craig and his co workers this week.

Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake

photo courtesy of kraftfoods.com

Snickerdoodle bundt cake

And lastly, yesterday I baked these yummies.

Peanut butter and fudge brownies with salted peanuts (click link for picture)

Only, I substituted peanut butter chips for salted peanuts because brownies with nuts top my list of THINGS I TOTALLY HATE. Like, gag me with a spoon. Totally.

I'm not hatin on nuts. Really.

I like them fine, just NOT in my brownies.

This was a labor intensive recipe, but really quite tasty, and worth the effort.

I realize that I previously chastised Paula Deen for using too much butter and here I just wrote about three fattening desserts I prepared this week. I don't mind fattening up others; it's my hips and arteries I'm concerened with.

In case you haven't noticed, it's all about ME.

Just to prove that the only things coming from my kitchen this week weren't laden with butter, sugar, chocolate and cream cheese, I made bourbon chicken for dinner a few nights ago.

This recipe is SO good. And easy.

I tweak it a little because unless it's a baking recipe, which is a science requiring accuracy, I don't think I'm capable of not tweaking a recipe. I'm fidgity. I can't leave well enough alone.

If only I could.

If only....

Sigh!

Anyway, I substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs for the breasts because you can cook the heck out of them and they never dry out. I also double the sauce recipe, add some carrots, and flip the measurements for water and apple juice. I like to use more apple juice than water to provide some natural sweetness. Before I brown the chicken, I coat it in a little seasoned flour. This lends a crispier outer texture and also acts as a thickening agent for the sauce.

We serve this over noodles because Craig really prefers pasta to rice. Sometimes I remember to buy some noodles in the Asian section of the grocery store. Other times I just use linguine or spaghetti.

And sometimes I make rice and force Craig to eat it.

Not really.