Planning: Sept 29 - Oct 4, 2013

So.
We're hoping to eat at home this week.  An admirable goal, with everything that's going on.  I have a meeting on Monday, and we leave Friday for football again.  Here's what we're having between now and then:

• Chicken with Fettucine and Pesto Cream Sauce
• Chicken Fajita Salad
• Chocolate Donut Muffins
• Asparagus and Sausage Saute over Polenta
• Grilled Salmon, Rice and Broccoli

That sounds like enough.  Not a whole lot of new, but we'll figure it out.

Magazine Challenge: September Planning

Oh, I'm so late.
But better late than never.  J and I gave the final cheque to the kitchen design place on Thursday.  The kitchen now officially belongs to the bank.  In the spirit of my actually returning everything from the basement to the kitchen, I have decided to look through the September issue of Everyday Food from 2005 and choose 6 things.
I actually chose 8 things.  Only one is kind of odd.  With only 10 days left this month, I'm not going to get them all made in September.  But with a couple of weekends home, we'll get some of these made.  As soon as I get over my cold.
Excuses, excuses. 
Here's what's on the horizon from the September issue:

1. Chocolate Layer Cake
2. Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary
3. Chicken Tortilla Soup
4. Zucchini and Scallion Fritters
5. Zucchini-Parmesan Bread
6. Chicken Fettuccine with Pesto Cream Sauce
7. Orange Glazed Carrots
8. Caramelized Apple Tart

Heavier food as the nights get longer and the pool closes.  Here's to a busy October!

Pintertest Kitchen: Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pockets

So.
The kitchen is back up and running.  It's all good, seeing as I've gone back to work and the thought of having to grill or come up with new things for the crock pot is repulsive.
We love everything in this recipe.  Broccoli, chicken, cheese...pizza dough.  I've made similar recipes to this in terms of the pocket, and what I learned before was the importance of the seal.  We'll come back to this.
I present to you now The Baker Upstairs' Cheesy Chicken Pockets.  Here's the pin:

Swap Reveal! (Or, Where I Reveal Myself as a Bad Swap Partner)

So.
I signed up to do CuppaKim's mug swap.  I haven't done a swap in years, the last time being when I was still a regular contributor to the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards.  Frankly, the last swap I did there ended poorly when the bottles broke on the way to their recipient.  But that was a while ago, and perhaps I'm older, wiser, and a better packer than then.
I am older.
I considered...I planned...and planned so long that I realized after the deadline to mail that I was still in posession of the mugs and candle I had purchased to send.  Do you know how much it costs to send priority mail?  I call it a user fee for procrastination.  Sigh.  I checked the tracking, and I'm still not sure it will be there in time.  Oh, and I found the note that I wrote sitting on the table in my office the next day when I went into my office.  Rachel, I'm sorry.  I hope everything arrives in one piece.  This is why I shouldn't swap.  Good intentions are not all they're cracked up to be.
HOWEVER.
I did arrive home to a lovely box all the way from Christine M in Alberta one super rainy day this past week.

Here is the snazzy packaging, including the card that was with it.  (Thankfully, Christine saw my tweet...I had no way to tell her that it arrived)  I love polka dots.  So, so much.

Inside was a snazzy mug that will be joining me at work, some hot chocolate, coffee, and a couple of hand made dishcloths.  So tightly packed that nothing would break.

So thanks Christine!  And thanks CuppaKim for a fun swap!