One of the reasons I love living in Colorado

What is your achilles heel when it comes to cooking?



Mine has always been anything involving yeast. Perhaps, it is my lack of focus, or the fact that I have been baking at 6000+ feet ever since I have expanded my interest in cooking. Today, I feel I conquered that a little bit. No, I didn't make bread, but I made my own pizza dough and then grilled the pizzas on the grill. What the heck was I waiting for? I used this recipe for the dough. The dough took about 5 minutes to make and knead in the food processor and then letting it rise for an hour. Grilling the pizzas was just as easy. I think the key is a clean and well oiled grill. I had the toppings ready to use by the grill, and grilled one 10" pizza at a time. About 3 minutes on the first side, turning it once. I then set the grilled side down on a stone so I didn't have to put the toppings on while it was sitting on the grill. I think I need to improve my indirect heating and cooking techniques as the toppings weren't cooking as much as I would like before the second side started to burn a little, but it still gave the taste as though it had been cooked in a brick oven. I don't know that I will always cook them on the grill, but I have given up my need for store-bought pizza dough.

The...best...chicken...noodle...soup...ever; or pretty darn close



I love chicken noodle soup. My homemade versions always seemed to lack the right seasoning however; that is, until I found this recipe that I modified from Cooking Light. The original recipe called for roasted chicken, evaporated milk and potatoes in addition to the noodles. I think my version is better and healthier. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

2 tsp. olive oil
1 cup each chopped celery, carrots and onion
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4- 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
6 cups chicken broth (low sodium if you are watching sodium intake)
2 cups water
4-6 chicken thighs or drumsticks, skin on
2 cups uncooked egg noodles

1. Heat olive oil; add celery, carrots, onion and garlic and saute until tender; about 5 minutes.
2. Add flour and seasonings and mix to coat veggies
3. Add broth, water, and chicken. Bring to a boil, and then turn down heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
4. Remove chicken; let cool and chop meat (discard skin and bones). Add noodles to the soup mixture while you are chopping chicken. Turn up the heat for about 10 minutes to cook the noodles. Add chicken back and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

Do you know that stroganoff does not photograph all that well?

This is the best shot I could find. Family members will look at this and say this does not look like mom's recipe! But I have to say, that her beef stroganoff was never my favorite. It could have been the canned mushrooms, but more than that, I think it was the addition of tomato sauce. This recipe has come to be my favorite. I do modify it though. I add significantly more sour cream and add a healthy amount of dill. I also make a roux to turn the sauce into more of a gravy. This recipe comes from Tyler Florence; I have found so many of his recipes to be right on. To my family -- I know you all love mom's recipe, but if you want to try something a little more traditional, you might want to try this one as well.