Cheese and Corn Chowder (202)
Easy and filling. The perfect snow-day left-over lunch

Chicken Pilau II (184)
Great! Easy! Here’s the recipe: (I cut it in half and served 4 large helpings)
Combine in large kettle:
1 3-4 lb fryer, cut up
2 qys water
1 clove garlic
1 t salt
Saute in small skillet:
3 T oil
2 onions, minced
Add to chicken and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 2o minutes
Add”
2 1/2 c brown ruce
Cover and simmer 40 minutes, or until chicken and rice are done.
Remove chicken to a platter.
Stir into rice:
1 1/2 c raisins
1 1/2 T curry powder
1 t salt
1 T honey
2 T lime or lemon juice
Mound rice around chicken and garnish with:
1/2 c slivered almonds
1/4 c chopped parsley

*When I took the chicken out, the rice was still really soupy, so I added the spices and simmered for another 15 minutes. I also took the chicken off the bone, shredded it, and put it into the rice. I think it helped because the chicken had gotten a little overcooked. I also didn’t garnish. It was very tasty and a great leftover.

Pumpkin soup (207)
Waaaay too much nutmeg. I didn’t like it (Brian ate it and commented that he had never seen me push a soup away before).

Potato filling (232)
I made this as a side dish for the potato soup in case someone didn’t like the soup. The potato filling was great. Could easily be a main dish with some cheese or a little cubed ham.

Poor man’s lobster thermidor (192)
It calls for cooked fish (we used Canadian perch), and I had some baked potatoes in the oven on 400 so I put the fish in a baking dish with some lemon juice and it them for about 15-20 minutes. The sauce was great and it tasted very rich. Like lobster!

Stif-Fried Broccoli (225)
Another winner!

Combine and set aside:
1/2 c chicken broth
1 t cornstarch
2 T soy
1 t sugar
Heat in skillet
3 T oil
Add:
1/2 medium onion diced
Fry until golden
1 lb broccoli, cut in small pieces (I did half brocc, half cauliflower)

Stir-fry 3 minutes. Add sauce ingredients. Stir-fry for 1 minute until sauce clears.

One thing I love about MwL is how I don’t have to be a perfect cook. For the stir-fry, I forgot to add the onions, I sliced instead of dicing, and I burned the whole thing a little. It was still delicious.

The best part of the lobster/potato/broccoli meal was getting to share with my neighbor, Kim. Brian had to work late and I needed an adult to appreciate the meal (although, Reese had three helpings of the fish. Awesome). I called Kim at the last minute, and she and her son came over to eat and play. It turned a crummy evening into a nice one. Yay for neighbors!

Also, I’m re-rediscovering how much salt you need to add when you cook totally from scratch! I always forget to salt my broth, so if I’m cooking from scratch I have to use at least as much salt as the recipe calls for. I’m learning why salt is always on tables. Not for canned, from a box, frozen food. No, for scratch food, because it makes all the difference between bland and delicious!