Angel Chicken Pasta

I believe in Angels.
Who doesn't believe in Angels? The word angels is derived from the Greek word angelos, which means messenger. The word "angel" can commonly be used to describe anyone who brings a message to another, whether a human being or a spirit.  In some religions, angels are spirit messengers who bring messages of truth to aid mankind. Many people today look to angels for assistance or even intervention during crisis.  I look at them as showing up at just the right time, helping, guiding, watching over. They come in all shapes and sizes, human or spiritual. 

I'll never forget the "angel" that showed up for me in the nick of time. It was straight out of a TV show, I swear. I was traveling through the Denver airport with a co-worker on our way to California right before Christmas, 4 months pregnant.  We had minutes to spare in transferring planes and our gate changed at the last minute. We poorly planned to present budgets and marketing plans that afternoon so missing the plane would have been dooms-day. We began running, walking fast (due to the pregnant factor) when out of nowhere, a colorful angel pulled up in her cart and asked if she could give us a ride to our gate. "who us?", looking around...we're not old people. Why us? I wasn't completely looking pregnant (in my mind). We graciously jumped on board and she delivered us to our gate. We turned to say thank you and she winked at us, smiled and drove away. She was wearing a red scarf. A serious angel-spotting! 

Stories like this happen to all of us everyday. It could be the person who holds the door open for you when you have 8 bags and a kid on your hip. Or the person who chases you down when you drop something. Or a neighbor who drops off a handful of recipes to use while we make it through our journey around the world. Tonight, my angel is Amy. She's my neighbor and mother to "Cal" who I've mentioned a few times in my blog. She must know that I'm writing about her because she just sent me a text to say she would drive kids to school tomorrow, pick up my dry cleaning, go to work for me, guest cook tomorrow night and... ok it stops after driving kids:) Angel, not fairy godmother...

Angel Chicken Pasta
1/2 cup butter
2 pkgs. Good Seasons Italian Dressing
2 cans golden mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
8 oz. cream cheese (chive & onions)

Mix together and poor over 4-6 chicken breasts in a crock pot.
Cook for 6-8 hours on low
Remove chicken and shred.
Place back in the crock pot, mixing with the sauce.
Serve over prepared Angel Hair pasta.

A solid American meal to have in your meal rotation schedule. I would highly recommend it. Delicious, angel friend.



The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.  ~George Elliot

Cupids & Crabs.

Valentine's Day
Such a pressured day for many in this world. Not sure the fuss. I think society (or Hallmark)  has made such a big deal about this being a couples only holiday that it's ruined the fun innocent mystique of it all. I think someone needs to create a campaign that showcases the holiday as being nothing more than sharing your love for the people close to you or even to strangers. It should be a day where people forget about their selfish agendas and do little things that are nice and caring, sharing gratitude for a friendship, a relationship and more.


Now don't get me wrong, I'm a romantic when it comes to meddling in other peoples business. Like Hannah for instance... her friend Evan gave her a Valentine and then asked her out. She now has a boyfriend thanks to Saint Valentine! Or my sister Barb, she was given an opportunity to start a new chapter in her life today as a new teachers associate for a special education classroom in Waukee, IA. Talk about sweet. Romance comes in different shapes, different packages, different outcomes. It's really the romance of life that we should all celebrate on this fine Saint Valentine's Day. 

So our bit of romance this evening included crab legs, roasted potatoes, asparagus and sourdough bread, straight from the north-western part of America.  Such memories from enjoying crab legs as a family. I remember when we were stuck in Atlanta for a 6 hour layover years back, coming home from Mexico with Hannah and Elie. We took a cab to an awesome restaurant call Spondivits, a steak and seafood place. We sat outside and gobbled up a bucket of crab legs and took home our cab tools (as pictured). 


Crab Legs
2 lbs. crab legs
Bay Seasoning added to a stock pot of water.
Steam and serve with melted butter (can add garlic) in ramiken


Heart-shaped Roasted Potatoes

6 large potatoes (about 2 pounds for 4 servings)

1/4cup olive oil

1tbl kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Make Heart Cutouts

• Fill a pot with  about 1quart -2quart  of water  to boil, add about 1tbl salt

• In the meantime peel potatoes, slice them , using a small metal cookie cutter cut out as many hearts as you can. Reserve scraps in water, you can also par-cook scraps or make mashed potatoes
• Cook potatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain potatoes and let cool slightly
• Combine all the ingredients for the marinade
• Preheat oven to 400F
• Line baking sheet with aluminum foil, spray with non-stick spray
• Spread marinaded potatoes evenly onto the baking sheet
• Roast them for 20 minutes, using an off set silicone spatula carefully turn the potatoes as needed(don't forget to use oven mittens when handling hot baking sheet!)
• If your oven has a broiler, broil potatoes for additional 5 minutes or so until they are golden on the outside

* Recipe originated from this great blog: http://hanielas.blogspot.com


Happy is. 

Mini Burgers.

Mini Monday
Tonight was our typical Monday. Swimming and dance. Errands and taxi pickup. Hannah had a 12 hour day at school... class, syncronized swimming, swim practice and home. Elie swam and said she was swimming so fast that the coach had to tell her to slow down. Gotta love tapering! Katy danced and was excited to tell her friend Emma that she now has bunk beds in her room. Andy was bummed to see Iowa State get beat and I ran to the store in between taxi duty to prepare for our Valentine's Meal.

Dinner was simple, American – Mini Burgers and French Fries. This a a meal that Grandma Jane has been making our kids since they were toddlers. They are so cute and maybe slightly not on the diet plan. Oh well, it's Monday and the weather was stinky today so indulging on a slider felt very American.

Mini Burgers

1 lb. ground chuck

Salt & pepper

Cocktail buns

Ketchup

Mustard

Wax paper

Form small meatballs and press between two sheets of wax paper until they are very thin. Fry them up in a frying pan until cooked through (don't forget to flip). Greasy good. Slice buns and serve.

French Fries- Ore Ida frozen... read the package for directions!

Bam, dinner done. Happy Monday. 

Proud to be an American.

We're coming back to America... says Elie who wants to pause a bit in our journey to conquer the globe...

Today was a great American day! Elie qualified for USA swimming state in 4 events: 100 Backstroke, 100 Fly, 100 IM and 50 free. We are so proud of her and excited to see her swim six events plus relays next weekend at the state meet in Marshalltown, IA.

This week will be an interesting meal plan, trying to make our food American. I think seeking out recipes from friends and family will be the American theme this week.

Crepes

Bon jour France.

Good morning, France. What a great way to begin a Saturday, enjoying Crepes to jump start the day. I can't believe how easy they are to prepare. The word "crepe" sounds so fancy and unapproachable. So contrary. You already have the ingredients on hand.... flour, milk, eggs, salt, butter... Our Crepes were filled with warmed up hot fudge sauce, strawberry rhubarb jam and plain with powdered sugar and syrup.

I couldn't end our trip to France without Katy having her French fries so I treated her to Le McDonald's. She was very happy with her "french" cuisine.

Thank you Katy for choosing France as our dining experience. We learned a lot about their cooking and understand that you don't like your food mixed up together that much! Look forward to next week as we pause and enjoy food from America.

Someday, Andy and I will come back to France to enjoy a more adult-like cuisine. I should start posting meals that could have happened without kids living in our household...but it wouldn't be as much fun...


I turned to Julia Child for the Crepe recipe...

All-Purpose Crepe Formula
1 cup flour (instant-blending preferred, but all-purpose will do)
2/3 cup each milk and cold water
3 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbl. melted butter

The crepe batter
Measure the flour into a bowl, then whisk in by dribbles the mild and water to make a perfectly smooth blend. Whisk eggs, salt and 3 Tbl. melted butter. Let rest 10 minutes or 1 hour in the refrigerator for regular all-purpose flour.

Cooking the crepes
Heat the crepe pan until drops of water dance on it, then brush lightly with melted butter. Pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into the center of hot pan and tilt it in all directions. The batter should cover the pan with a light coating; pour out any excess. After 30 seconds or so, the bottom of the crepe should be lightly browned. Shake and jerk the pan by its handle to dislodge the crepe., then turn it over wither with your fingers or a spatula. Cook it for 15 to 20 seconds more.

Transfer the crepes as done to a rack. Serve with chocolate, fruit, plain, anything. They are delicious any way you choose!

My day was Happy. Elie swam in the regional meet and dropped 8 seconds in the 100 freestyle, earning her a spot on the State team. She missed the 500 free by one second but is not complaining with her minute and a half drop in her time:) Katy danced during the Valley High School Dance concert. Nothing beats a day of seeing your kids smiling and proud of their accomplishments.

Happy Is.

Pommes Frites & Steak with Truffle Oil.

"Fri"day night here at the Gillaspey household. The big awaiting that Katy has been so patient for all week long. We planned the menu...steak with truffle oil, french green beans and Pommes Frites, otherwise known as French fries. Andy hand cut the potatoes, oh so thinly and he seasoned the steak with care.  He dialed up the Fry Daddy out on the deck and was ready to begin the meal. The only thing missing was...Katy! Yes, our sweet Katy decided to stay at Cal's house for dinner.

So this meal is in honor of little miss Katy who chose France as her country for the sole reason that they served French fries.  Poor Katy, missed the fries of her life!  We fed the first batch to Hannah and her friend Chloe as an appetizer. Then Elie, Andy and I enjoyed our French dinner on our own.

Pommes Frites
Use a mandolin to slice the potatoes pencil thin
Dial up the Fry Daddy to a high degree
Fry them up!
Season with Salt and pepper-drizzle truffle oil (optional)

Steak with Truffle oil
Season steaks and leave on counter to room temp
Sear steaks on a stove top grill
Bake in the oven @ 400 degrees
Drizzle Truffle Oil once cooked

French Green Beans
Boil to doneness

The inspiration of the meal besides Frites was the Truffle Oil. We purchased a bottle a few years ago for a recipe where we used a tsp.....so, holding onto a $14 bottle of oil makes a person think about using it every so often. I'm not sure how much flavor was left since I never really got to know the oil to begin with but it appeared just fine. Maybe not as strong? Who knows.

We also enjoyed a bottle of Chante Cigale, a French Red Rhone wine from the Rhone region in the south of France. Similar to a Syrah in America.

Bon Appetit to the French for a great week in France. It's been real.  Happy Is.

Nuit en trop.

... or "leftovers night" in America! As much as we would love to dive into another French creation, the amount of food in our refrigerator caused us to pause and enjoy the labor of love shared earlier in the week. So, we noshed on Beef Bourguignon and Quiche... and ramen noodles for Elie!

Tonight Katy focused on Girl Scout cookies which we picked up earlier in the night. She was tasked to organize 80 boxes of cookies and she did it perfectly! She was off delivering what she could in the neighborhood and snuck into the dining room to check out her own stash shortly thereafter. (I better go check out the damage)...

Hannah was off to tee-pee the boys swim team who will be participating in the State meet this weekend while Elie went on and on about her great experience seeing Michelle Obama speak today at Wells Fargo Arena. I've never heard her speak so long in one night. What a great experience she had today, along with all the kids in Des Moines. A memory that will last forever. Too cool.

We begin to unwind from this country, just a few more days. I asked Hannah what country she was thinking about choosing and she replied, "I want crepes". "What country do they come from?"Uhhh.. France? She nearly screamed. I guess Crepes will be something we attempt to make this weekend! 

Did you know that there is a USA Girl Scouts Overseas Paris? I wonder if they sell the same cookies as the USA?