success!

chicken pot pie!

what's cooking this week!

silver sunday is going to be a great night! i am so excited because of this new recipe i found in the great issue of southern living that is out right now.  i'm actually going to combine two recipes and take part of one and part of another! my version of southern living's double-crust chicken pot pie and their stovetop chicken pie...


chicken pot pie
what you need...
1 package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 large egg
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup [reduced fat]
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
4 cups chopped cooked chicken [or one cheater chicken aka rotisserie chicken from the deli section]
1/2 cup dry white wine [go ahead and pour the other 1/2 cup for you to enjoy]
1/2 (8-oz) package of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/2 (.7oz) italian dressing mix packet (about 2 teaspoons)
1 cup frozen baby peas, thawed


what to do...
sauté onion in hot oil in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes or until golden. add mushrooms and saute 5 minutes or until tender.  stir in chicken and next 5 ingredients.  cook stirring frequently, 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is thoroughly heated.  stir in peas and cook 2 minutes.  


roll each pastry sheet into a 12x10 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface.  fit 1 sheet into a 9 inch deep dish pie plate; spoon chicken mixture into pastry. place remaining pastry sheet over filling in opposite direction of bottom sheet. fold edge under with a fork, sealing to bottom crust. whisk together 1 large egg and 1 tablespoon of water and brush over pie.  bake at 375 on lower oven rack 55 minutes or until browned. let stand 15 minutes. 

success!

yummy supper! chicken gumbo! 

holiday count down

happy silver sunday! tonight this family is having a fresh shepherd's pie, asparagus, and garlic bread on china and silver--it has been the first day that i have had in a really long time to just lounge!  who knew watching tv and eating kettle corn could feel so productive. it really is that time of year again...elf, home alone, and the holiday on three times a day!  tomorrow my [paternal] grandmother flies in and i am doing the honor of picking her up from the airport. we are then going to come back to our new house and show her around before heading up to my parents.  i cannot wait to see her and this is what i have really been looking forward to about this week.  


for an after dinner treat, i am going to be bringing a new recipe...


Coconut Dream Bars

1 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup softened butter or margarine
2 eggs
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/3 cups Coconut
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts


Combine 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Add butter and mix until well blended. Press into greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat eggs until thick and light in color. Slowly beat in 3/4 cup brown sugar and continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Mix 1/4 cup flour with the baking powder & fold into egg mixture. Mix in coconut, vanilla and nuts. Spread over baked crust in pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars (about 2 dzn)

i'll let you know how they turn out! 

a chilly silver sunday

what a chilly day it is today in atlanta and running around outside does not necessarily sound too much better.  the girls will be here soon for our greer date and then the "fun" is over and its back to sunday house chores.


i am determined to clean out the freezer that i have stocked up with food for months and months so that i can stock up with new food again soon! kroger chicken sales have stacked our fridge with plenty recently and pasta too.  tonight's silver sunday dinner is a classic fave...chicken tetrazzini! 


what you need...
8 ounces dried spaghetti
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1-1/4 cups chicken broth
1-1/4 cups half and half, light cream or milk [i use Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2]
2 cups chopped chicken
2 tbsp dry sherry (if you want it/have it in stock)...I plan on drinking a glass of wine while cooking instead
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley


what to do...

1. cook spaghetti & drain
2. in a large saucepan cook mushrooms and green onion in hot butter until tender. stir in flour, pepper, and nutmeg. add broth and half and half all at once.  cook & stir until thickened and bubbly.  stir in sherry and half of the parm. gently add pasta.
3. transfer mixture to a 2 qt rectangle baking dish.  sprinkling with remaining parm and almonds. bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 min.  top with parsley before serving

better go get my work out clothes on and warm up my arms by starting to clean up some of the junk by our garage before the girls get here!

happy day light savings sunday! 

happy [belated] halloween

halloween this year at the davis house was fairly uneventful which aside from popular belief was amazing.  for one, joe & i actually got to enjoy each other's company for the entire weekend which was a change for sure!  we had a neighborhood block party on sunday afternoon and then after that greeted a whopping 3 groups of trick or treaters...somehow the candy we have left dwindles each day but i'm pretty sure that's just me picking up a few pieces as i walk past it daily (despite greer's recommendation to give it to charity).

we had yummy turkey chili and pumpkin soup across the street for dinner served in plastic bowls with plastic spoons which was okay because silver sunday was skipped this week at our house but instead we had a yummy dessert...strawberry shortcake!

its a token better homes & gardens recipe but an amazing one nonetheless

amazing strawberry shortcakes!

what you need...

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup cold butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
2 tablespoons milk
5 cups sliced strawberries

3 tablespoons sugar

1 recipe Whipped Cream

what to do

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet (or use nonstick). In a bowl combine flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Using a pastry blender (or fork but it is way more time consuming) & cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl combine egg, sour cream, and milk. Add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until moistened.
2. Drop dough into 8 mounds onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.
3. Toss a little sugar on the strawberries after they are cleaned and cut.  Split shortcakes in half; fill with strawberry mixture and whipped cream. Top with remaining sliced strawberries.

we've made it a week! happy silver sunday!

one post i left in draft stage haha--posting about 5 days later....

happy silver sunday...AGAIN! i've made it a week which is better than the last time i attempted at this blogging thing...and in a week i've managed to get three followers however i think i'm skewing my numbers because one of them is my other email account!

i know the answer to life's questions about how to survive as a 20-something...the age where people have a hard time taking you serious at work yet you're too old to be in college still...where there is a really fine line between maturity and immaturity...when everyone you know is in a different stage of life.  i was reminded as i was driving back from the airport that the key to surviving your 20's [and beyond] is by having amazing friends.

linds was just here for the afternoon and what a spoiling treat that was. two times in three months to be visiting with her is unreal and amazing! after traveling to portland to go to jill & kyle's wedding it was surely going to be next year before we got to see lindsay again! brunch at murphy's which is one of my favorite restaurants these days was to die for great.

as for tonights silver sunday at this point i don't care if we eat cereal with silver spoons! i think thought that we will have something yummy but eas

happy silver sunday

a new [ali & joe] davis family tradition is silver sunday...at our house we pull out all the stops on sunday which is one of the few times that we actually sit down and eat the same meal at the same time during the week...sir christopher joins us at the dinner table as we give our thanks for the great week (knock on wood) that we are about to have & lately, safe travels for everyone else who is included with us in the moving way too fast category hopping from engagement party to wedding to football game every weekend.


today for lunch we dined at the colonnade, an atlanta fave, with joe's parents as they stopped in town...its always a treat to see them and visit with them on their way to/from montgomery & highlands.


tonight i had to rock-paper-scissor for what we would be having for dinner and i decided to keep it somewhat simple & light making my best attempt to copy something i never in a million years thought i would like from souper jenny (another local atlanta fave) that i had for rachel's birthday dinner.  plus we haven't used our silver soup spoons yet so it seemed like a good choice!


i think what caught my eye was that this recipe from googling a while included 1) tomatoes which is something i would probably trade for eating dirt yet actually enjoyed in this soup 2) hominy which is something i had never eaten but i think i ate it because i had no idea what it was 3)it has an onion in, which joe detests as much as i do tomatoes, but i didn't tell him and he didn't seem to notice 


Tortilla Soup

• 1 chopped onion
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1-10.5 oz can condensed chicken broth (low soduim/fat free)
• 1-1/4 cups water
• 1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
• 1 cup white hominy (found in the corn aisle at the groc--bush's makes it)
• 1-4 oz can chopped green chile peppers
• 1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (they make a low sodium option which was just fine)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (i used 1/8 cup parsley instead)
• 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded 

1) heat oil in a stock pot and saute onion and garlic until onion is soft. 2) add in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, water and boil.  3) let simmer 5-10 minutes 4) add in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, & chicken 5) simmer for 10 more minutes

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if you know me you know i have a hearty dollop of daisy on top and a pretty decent handful of 2% sharp cheddar on this which only adds im sure to why i liked it so much at souper jenny. plus my go to glass of pinot grigio was the icing on the cake!

though this version might not have been as perfect as souper jenny--it was pretty good! i think a lot of what makes eating out good is that someone cleans up after me and i'm not the one washing my stock pot!

time to enjoy all sunday night has to offer starting off with desperate housewives/brothers & sisters with my mini vanilla ice cream sandwich!