Sunday Supper

After my conversation with mom yesterday, I headed out to Ollie's Outlet to shop for a new skillet.  Once I got to the cookware aisle, I was overwhelmed at the piled up pans.  I found two that I thought might be similar to the one mom mentioned, but finally gave in and called her to confirm the brand of the one she has (Faberware).  With that piece of information, I selected a 12" skillet with rounded sides, also useable in the oven to 400 degrees.  I also picked up 5 stainless steel prep bowls for 0.79 each. 

Tonite's dinner plan was to use another McCormick spice card for Chicken Cacciatore.  I'm getting smarter... I actually CAREFULLY read the whole recipe and did my prep before I turned the stove top on.  Diced my chicken into cubes, chopped my onion, my celery (a substitution for the green peppers), made my breading flour mixture, and opened all the pre-measured spices.  I goofed though, and put the pepper in the spice mix, instead of in the breading flour.  Charles commented that it was a little more peppery than he liked.  Ooops.  Then I put two tablespoons of olive oil into my new skillet, and quickly discovered that I should have replaced my skillet YEARS ago.  What a huge difference cooking.  Last night's cube steak could have used the new skillet.   I also had discovered during prep that I didn't have diced tomatoes, so I made use of some rotel and the last half of a tomato in our fridge, along with my new knife and cutting board.  Again, (are you sensing a theme) I need to stop being cheap and replace my tools sooner.

The verdict?  I managed to dish out Duncan's so he didn't get mushrooms, and he at least ate a serving.  Charles liked it, and Connor had a HUGE second helping.  I served it over broad egg noodles.    One I will repeat with tweaks, just not immediately.  In researching for this blog entry, I finally found the recipe cards on the McCormick website, along with a bunch of cool looking recipes.  I think I have found a new place to look for recipes!

The only thing I didn't like about McCormick is that the site isn't terribly compatible with the recipe app I am using, Pepper Plate.  So far I am really liking PP.  It has a widget like Pinterest that can grab recipes, allows me to add recipes to a shopping list, and in general is easy to navigate.  Does anyone else have a recipe app for their phone/tablet that they like?

Up next... Pork Loin!!