Aye Carumba! Protein explosion Mexi-Casserole!

Howdy y'all, Butterballs!

Holy page views, Batman!  Thanks for the love!  You inspire me to continue, and share the love that is the Raffety family kitchen!  I am also inspired by the fact that Matt is insisting on cooking this evening (twist my arm...), and that I stocked up on a WHOLE bunch of Oak Leaf Cabernet at Walmart the other day.  Fun fact: Did you know that the Two Buck (or closer to 3 bucks anymore...) Chuck people make Oak Leaf ($3.77, but still an acceptable level of cheap for the professionals among us...)?  This is mostly a "fun" fact because Charles Shaw is a completely legit, weeknight wine, so buying 8-10 bottles of Oak Leaf on payday is 100% socially acceptable, and maybe you can pass as a connoisseur having a cost-effective party instead of just tired and cheap and probably drinking this in the company of your cat.  At our local Walmart, they've also started wrapping each individual bottle of wine in a wine shaped paper bag.  For those of us that need to haul 10 bottles out to where we parked our car for carpool going on 12 hours ago, this is clearly a very considerate gesture. 

In Missoula at the moment, it is capital W Winter, with all caps SNOW.  Matt and I are the owners of the world's most useless snow shovel.  It is so useless, that if it snows, I am far more likely to choose to use our broom (formerly known as house broom), to SWEEP AWAY all 8 inches of snow than I am to use this shovel.  Matt recently informed me that "it works way better" if you flip it over, and shovel upside down.  Our neighbors already think that we are completely inept 12 year olds (in fact most 12 year olds are probably intelligent enough to abandon a shovel this useless...), so making a show of shoveling upside down would only further cement this perception into their minds.  Long story short, I moved all of our snow off of our hard outdoor surfaces today using an O'Cedar floor broom, then cursed and swore at our shovel, all while still in my dress from taking our 4th graders to the orchestra today (obviously this seems counter-intuitive... don't worry, I changed my shoes).

After you've already had your fill of shoulder toning shoveling, and your dog's belly is two inches below the surface of the snow, making a good walk somewhat of a moot point, what you really need is more protein than a professional body builder consumes in a week.  I have a history of intolerance for Mexican-themed pasta... I can't rationalize it per se, maybe it's my love of pasta combined with mozzarella, who knows?  I scan Pinterest and see a plethora of recipes for lasagna rolls smothered in enchilada sauce and think... well, no thanks.  You could use orzo, or another small pasta as a substitute for the quinoa, because... variety is the spice of life?  Sure.  I just always feel like quinoa is rice's exotic Spanish cousin, and casserole is pasta's cozy Italian bestie, so naturally the two should meet.  Lord knows I love me some CHEESY, CHEEESSSSYYYY casserole.

You will need:
1 and 3/4 to 2 cups uncooked quinoa (you can boil this in equal parts water til all the water absorbs)
2 chicken breasts, seasoned with taco seasoning (another weeknight shortcut, you can sub your own blend, cumin, garlic and salt are most important), cooked through and cubed
1 medium can tomatoes, chilies and onions mixed
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped and browned in olive oil
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup (or more, YOLO, right?  P.S. This is the correct use of YOLO, or "You Only Live Once", as opposed to, "Drank 12 Four Locos and lit my porch on fire today... made s'mores, YOLOOOO!!!) Mexican blend cheese
Parley
Taco Seasoning
Pepper
Chili Flakes (to taste, 'mo spicey, 'mo betta in my book...)
One swirl of Sriracha (because why not?) all around the pan (of course that's a measurement, who asked you?)

Once you've boiled the quinoa and cooked the chicken and onion, you can mix up all the ingredients, minus the cheese in a large pan.  Heat until most of the tomato juice has reduced.  Spoon into medium, round baking dish, cover with cheese, and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until cheese starts to bubble and brown slightly.  Serve with guacamole, see http://cookingwithbutters.blogspot.com/2011/10/hooray-for-fiber.html for my recipe!  Matt also likes a dollop of sour cream.

I forgot to take a picture, but the thing about pictures of casserole is that they just look like dishes with cheese on top, so here's a picture of Dexter wrapped in Matt's apron:

As always, love and best fishes!  Mwah!

Happy "Mew" Year Lo Mein!

Howdy Y'all, Butterballs!
Happy New Year!  I hope you and yours had a fulfilling, and filling, experience over your holiday season!  Matt, myself and the cat spent our time, sleeping, entertaining, and of course, eating.  We were lucky enough to spend a week in Dillon with both of our respective families over the break, followed by two days of Megan Peck time, and a dubstep dance party on New Years Eve.  We were both back to work on Wednesday, and soon discovered that our time off was socially exciting, though not exactly the most restful nine days of our lives.

Now, I am not one for New Year Resolutions.  As close as I got this year was resolving to get all my laundry done by the time school started on Wednesday.  I did, in fact, get that done, so I am a big fat success, be jealous.  Butter's resolution was to be more comfortable with his body image, and since he really couldn't care less anyway, our family is two for two.

During our time of entertaining, we fully took advantage of our house's proximity to McDonald's, Arby's, and Taco Bell, so we were... resolute, perhaps, to cook this week.  As soon as we made this decision, my car crapped out, and we had to spend two evenings trying to get it towed to the car guy.  On Wednesday, we thought that if we couldn't eat at home, we'd at least try to eat healthy, so we decided to try a local fresh sandwich shop.  This ended up being about the worst culinary decision we've ever made.  Between mine being soaked with (unrequested) vinegar, and Matt's club sandwich being slathered in hot Chinese mustard, we had to go eat a cheeseburger to get the taste out of our mouths.  Friday, we took advantage of roughly $75 in free Outback steakhouse money we got for Christmas, and Thursday, I made this healthy lo mein.

Now, in addition to our usual secret cheap grocery spots (read: Walmart), we've also been frequenting Costco, also known as Senior Citizen Heaven and "I just have one thing to get because bulk shopping makes almost no sense for two people" Hell.  "What could you possibly need at Costco for a family of two that won't be so stale you could use it as paving tile by the time you use it up?", you might ask.  My answer would be: roughly ten thousand pounds of whole wheat spaghetti.  Now, we didn't end up with this much pasta intentionally.  Due to some health factors that were brought to my attention last fall, we've been cutting back on our refined carbs, and our dairy products, so naturally we were super excited when we saw that all this fancy pasta (if I have to give up dairy, there is absolutely no way in the world I am giving up pasta) for like, $1 a pound.  So naturally Matt bought ten pounds, then one month later, with the best of intentions, bought ten more.  Pretty much the only thing we have yet to do with spaghetti is make those little smokey octopus things on Pinterest...

To make Butters' Mew Year Resolution Lo Mein you will need:
3/4 lb whole wheat spaghetti
2 large chicken breasts, thinly sliced on the bias
1/4 cup (or more to taste) low sodium soy sauce
enough olive oil to cook your veg, chicken, and finish your dish
1 and 1/2 large carrots, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced into strips
1 head of broccoli with the heads cut into bite sized pieces
4 bias cut green onions for garnish
salt and pepper to taste for chicken

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan or wok on medium heat, add in carrots, yellow onion and broccoli, cook until the onions are translucent and the other veggies are tender.  Remove vegetables to a bowl, add a little more oil, and add in chicken.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until slightly browned. While your chicken is cooking, boil your pasta until al dente.  Add vegetables and (drained) pasta into pan with chicken.  Drizzle with soy sauce and olive oil, and toss.  Garnish with green onions.  Serve with eggrolls or potstickers.

Enjoy, my sweet Butterballs!  This New Year I am grateful for friends, family, and of course, all of your pretty faces!  Best Fishes for a prosperous and well fed New Year!