Sunday Dinner

Sunday Night Dinner:

Yesterday was a pretty awful day.  It was raining outside, confrontation was at a record high, loneliness was higher.  Sundays are like that.  You're dreading Monday.  And there's a certain nostalgia associated with Sundays... as a child you think its natural.  That's just how Sundays are... but it's not.  That's not true.  Just like a lot of things we believe as small children.  There's effort there.

So yesterday I cooked.

Just for me.  Which is the sad part.  But I was bound and determined to eat at least one good meal, and enjoy it.

I used the crock pot again.

2 unthawed chicken breasts
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 package of stuffing mix
1/2 cup fat free sour cream

The chicken breasts go on the bottom of the pot, covered in the stuffing mix, and then covered with the sour cream and soup mix.  Next time I will cover the chicken breasts in some seasonings (probably garlic, pepper, maybe something for a little kick...

This casserole simmered on low for three hours, which cooked the chicken all the way through.  If I had had more time, I would have left the meal in the pot for another hour to make sure the chicken was more tender.  This dish turned out moist and fluffy.

I also made brussell sprouts.  I know you think you hate them.  I don't know how you've tried them... but you've never had them like this.

I halved each sprout so it was bite sized. Seared the sprouts and a handful of almonds (may use pecans or walnuts next time, almonds tend to burn) in a pan with olive oil.  Then I drizzled honey over the sprouts, cooking until the honey caramelized some.  Then I added just a little bit more honey, took the sprouts off the heat, and added feta cheese.  The heat from the sprouts melted the cheese and the honey sweetened the whole concoction, with the nuts giving it some texture and added flavor.

Finally, though, I made beer bread.  Coming from a family of bread makers, anything that was not a Vaughan family recipe usually is not up to par.  But I didn't inherit one of the bread makers, and I wanted bread.  Not biscuits.  Not rolls from a tin pan.  I wanted homemade bread.  So once again, I turned to Pinterest.  And found a recipe for a honey beer bread.  I happened to have one Heineken left over from when Mary visited months ago, so all I had to do was buy a bag of bread flour.

The recipe is so simple.  3 cups of flour (2 all purpose, 1 bread), 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp white sugar, 3 tbsp honey, a pinch of salt.... 12 oz of beer.  4 tbsp of melted butter poured over top of the loaf.  Baked at 350 for 50 minutes.  It was, hands down, the best bread I've had that wasn't a Joe Vaughan recipe.

Sometimes, what you need is a homemade meal.  Sometimes, like I told her, you just want to feel like an adult.  Skip the mismatched couches and the Ramen and eat a real homemade meal at a kitchen table.  Even if you do end up eating by yourself.