P52 - Week 29 - Homecoming

Wonder Boy has been off at camp for the past couple of weeks, but today we welcomed him back home!


I know it's just a phone snap, but I was so glad to just have us all back together today that I didn't want the hassle of dragging out the big camera. Plus, this one was taken on the Boy's new phone (long story). Not too bad for low light, back light, and no flash imho.

I am very glad that the Boy enjoys his summer get-aways to camp each year. I know he is soaking up the taste of freedom that comes with camp.

But with that said, I sleep better when all 3 of us are safely tucked into our own beds.

I am trying to drink in every moment we have left before our Boy heads off to college. And this is one of those moments!

P52 - Week 28 - Special Request

It's Wonder Dad's birthday today, so he got to pick the menu for dinner tonight. I wasn't at all surprised that he wanted this dish - this one is at or near the top of both of our "favorite comfort food" lists! And sharing this here allows me to save the recipe for easy access as well!


I give you the ULTIMATE comfort food - Chicken Mole Verde! Sometimes we call it "green gravy chicken." This is one of those recipes that takes a bit to pull everything together, but it really is worth the effort. And I'll share a few shortcuts as well. But first ... the full deal ...

Part 1: Preparing the Chicken
Ingredients:
1 - whole roasting chicken (about 3-4 lbs), skinned and then cut up as desired into 6-8 pieces as will fit in boiling pan
1 - bunch chopped cilantro
1 - Tbs kosher salt
1 - tsp whole black peppercorns
2 - cloves garlic
1 - large yellow onion, chopped
1 - bay leaf
Directions:
1. Place the chicken, cilantro, salt, peppercorns, garlic, onion and bay leaf into a pan with 12 cups of water and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered until chicken is tender - about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3. Remove chicken from the pan and strain liquid through a fine strainer. Reserve 4 cups of the broth for the mole. I freeze the rest for later use.
4. Set chicken aside and begin preparing the mole.


Part 2: Preparing the Mole Verde
Ingredients:
8 - 10 oz. tomatillos, peeled and chopped
4 - jalapeños, chopped (leave seeds)
1 - bunch cilantro
1 - tsp kosher salt
2 - cloves garlic, chopped
2 - 8-inch flour tortillas, toasted
3 - Tbs olive oil or grapeseed oil
Directions:
1. Heat tomatillos and jalapeños in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until darkened and thick, about 10 minutes.
2. Transfer to a blender with cilantro, salt, garlic, tortillas, and 1 cup of the chicken broth; puree.
3. Heat the oil in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; add tomatillo puree to the oil - be very careful as it will sputter quite a bit. Cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes, until the puree thickens into a paste.
4. Whisk in remaining chicken broth, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often for about 30 minutes until it reaches a gravy-like consistency. 5. Shred the chicken and add to the mole. Cook about 5 - 10 minutes until the chicken is completely heated.

I know that's a lot of work, but TRUST ME, it is SO worth it!

Now ... I mentioned some short cuts. Often, if I have some of the left-over chicken broth in the freezer, I will skip the first part where you prepare the chicken and will use whatever chicken I have on hand. I make this chicken a lot, so it is not uncommon for me to have chicken in the fridge or freezer that can be used. You could pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store if you are really short on time. I prefer that to canned or just straight-up, plain boiled chicken. But by not having to worry about the chicken, you cut quite a bit of prep time off of this recipe.

We like to serve this as shown in the photo above, with plain old white rice. It is a stick-to-your ribs kind of meal and there is never a bad time to serve it. It also pairs very well with Spanish rice and tortillas. And if you are looking for a slightly-more-elegant looking meal, don't shred your chicken. Leave the pieces whole and ladle the sauce on top of them. I like shredding because it really helps to get the chicken to soak up the flavor, but it is not a requirement.

Anyway ... I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do!

P52 - Week 27 - Mas Musica

I've made no secret about the fact that my dear Wonder Boy loves to make music (nor that I love to HEAR HIM make music)! Since school got out for the summer, he's been hinting around that he'd like to add another instrument to his répertoire.


The boy's dad was generous enough to let him test the waters with his electric guitar and Wonder Boy hit the ground running. But the modern, metallic quality of sound from an electric instrument was not the tone that spoke to the Boy's heart. So we traded in a bass guitar that was gathering dust in a closet and indulged the boy with a classical acoustic guitar for his learning pleasure.

He jumped in with both feet and after only a few quick YouTube lessons, he was strumming out some really nice tunes! We're hoping when his summer travel is done, to find him a local tutor to at least cover the basics with him. But I have to tell you, as much as the Boy loves piano, as much as he enjoys his viola, he seems to have a real knack for the guitar!

And my ears are loving every minute of it!

P52 - Week 26 - Granny's Girls

This weekend was the annual family reunion for my dad's side of the family. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the big gathering, but we did find the time for a Sunday-after-church lunch with some of the cousins.


Believe it or not, but I'm the "baby" of this particular group. And I spent most of my childhood trying to keep up with or be like one of these ladies. We were the first 4 born on this side of the family. Four girls in a row. Followed by 4 rowdy boys (a 5th came much later, but he's every bit as rowdy as the others)!

Oh, who am I kidding? We were ALL a rowdy crew! The second generation of the "Grassbur Hill Bunch" (our parents being the 1st gen gang).

Being a gaggle of girls, we, of course, didn't always see eye to eye. And, being the youngest of the bunch, I was probably considered a nuisance most of the time. But this group right here probably knows me better than almost anyone else in this world (my better half being the exception). I look at their faces and I see them as I always have - that part of "my circle" that will always mean home and family. It is with these folks, that are as much my friends as they are my family, that I find my feet when things get shaky.

And I hope they all know just how much they are loved!

Though I'm voting that we move the family reunion to the mountains next summer so we are not all melting on Aunt Yo's porch when we pose for pictures!

P52 - Week 25 - Like Father, Like Son

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing Dad on the planet!


These two ... what can I say? They are different in so many ways, but I see more and more of his father coming out in our Wonder Boy each and every day. And nothing else makes my heart so happy!

The gun show here was prompted by Wonder Boy showing off the gains he's made in a weight lifting class he's been taking the last 6 weeks or so. He seems to truly enjoy it and his progress has been very quick. It won't be long until he has the biggest arsenal in the family!

P52 - Week 24 - Firehouse Salsa Verde

I've been hoping the opportunity to share this one would come up so that I could save the recipe somewhere easy to find. So this week, I present to you:

Mama G's Firehouse Salsa Verde


Ingredients
~ 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed, split in half
~ 1 medium yellow or white onion, peeled and quartered
~ 4 or 5 chile peppers (I like a mix of Serrano and jalapeño chilies but I use whatever is in season or that I can get fresh), split in half - leave the seeds
~ 2 bunches of cilantro, tough lower stems discarded
~ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I use EVOO or grape seed oil)
~ Kosher salt
~ garlic powder
~ cumin
~ black pepper
~ cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to 4 inches below broiler and preheat broiler to high. Place tomatillos, onion, and chilies on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Broil until darkly charred and blackened on top and tomatillos are completely tender, 6 to 12 minutes
2. Transfer vegetables and their juice to a blender, food processor, or the cup of an immersion blender. Add 1 bunch of cilantro. Blend in pulses until a rough puree is formed.
3. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over high heat until shimmering. Pour salsa into the hot oil all at once (it will steam and sputter - be careful!). Immediately start stirring and continue to cook, stirring, until salsa is darkened and thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Finely chop remaining cilantro and stir into salsa. Add spices to taste - this part takes some trial and error. Go easy on the salt at first and add more as needed. I use the following rough quantities: pinch Kosher salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne. But play around with it to get the flavor that YOU like the best.
5. Let cool, then serve!

I kid you not when I say to be careful on step 3 when you pour the salsa into the hot oil! That is how this salsa got its name - it's not incredibly hot on the Scoville scale, but the first 2 times I made this salsa I spattered a bit too much and we got a flame-up that set off the smoke alarms in my kitchen! My guys love to give me a hard time about that, but the salsa is still a house favorite!

Please note that the heat varies pretty widely based on the peppers. Even if I use 4 large jalapeño peppers, it can be very different from one batch to the next. If you are really worried about burning your taste buds, you can trim out the seeds, but I ALWAYS leave them in and never have I had a batch I would call more than "medium."

Anyway ... hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

P52 - Week 23 - Tough Cookie

When we were getting things ready for Nanny's memorial service, we picked up some really pretty (& pretty BIG) potted plants that we used for a center piece on the table that would hold her urn. But we wanted to cover the room in her favorite color/flower, so we also splurged on a pallet of small pots with miniature yellow roses, with the idea to use them on the tables around the room.

We got a GREAT deal on the plants as the garden manager was afraid they were not very healthy plants. And I guess we should have listened to her concerns as all 7 pots were too sickly to bring with us to the memorial service. But we planted them anyway and hoped that with a bit of TLC, they would bounce back.


This little guy and its nearest neighbor are the only survivors. But when they bloom, they are WORTH THE EFFORT of trying to keep them hanging in there. A bloom like this one is barely larger than a quarter, but it's a wonderful, bold splash of color nestled in the rocks of the flower bed along one side of our home and I just love them! I'm so thankful they are toughing it out for me!