The long awaited new post...(Bad blogger, bad blogger!)

So...I know that I have been a bad blogger. A new post has not been written in a couple of months. It wasn't something that I intended nor wanted to happen. Basically I didn't have the finances to be able to cook as much as I wanted or what I wanted to cook. However with a new job job and passion going again, I intend to keep this going!

So, in other news...I have been accepted into culinary school! Yes, I have been accepted into Lincoln Culinary Institute in Hartford! I'm very excited. :) I have not told many people as of yet pretty much because I wasn't sure if I could go yet. But finances are looking up...so hopefully in either end of April or September, I shall be back in school. Ultimately, I just want to get my culinary career started!

Lately, I have been uber obsessed with the show "Chopped" on Food Network. It is my new favorite show and religion. (I have also gotten two other people in the house into it. *Self High Five*) If you haven't heard of it, it's basically a competition where four professional chefs compete in the kitchen to win $10,000. There is an appetizer, entree and dessert round. The catch is, there's mystery ingredients in each basket for every round and believe me, there's some weird stuff in there. Oh and btw there's only 20 minutes for the first round, half hour for second and half hour for the third. It's pretty difficult. Needless to say, I have been inspired by the show.

Today with the storm and having over two feet of snow and all, I have been a bum, as has everyone else in the house. My boyfriend Chad and I were watching a special edition of "Chopped" where the four contestants were teenagers, the youngest being 13. 13?! 13 years old and on this show?! Well, I suddenly felt very sad about my life and existence so I knew I had to get back to the blog and get my ass in check. So, Chad gave me a task of creating a dish with ingredients that I found in the kitchen and he was going to judge the taste and presentation. Time wise, it was not Chopped style due to other people in the kitchen, but it was all good. So I looked to see what we had and I got out turkey stuffing, chicken noodle soup, cranberry juice and parsnips. Well, I knew I could make something with this. Was it anything compared to what the Chopped contestants deal with? Hell to the no.

 I knew that I wanted to make a puree with the parsnips and started to sautee them in olive oil and garlic. I then added some chopped turnips and carrots as well. As those started to soften, I added some chicken stock to it to get to cook faster. Meanwhile I started to get the instant stuffing  in a pot and left that alone. I also got out the two cans of canned soup and drained the liquid part into a bowl and chicken, veggies and noodles into another bowl. I knew that I could use both. I then started to get some turkey bacon in another pan and got that crispy and added the noodles and chicken from the canned soup. I then got the parsnips, carrots and turnips I was cooking in the chicken broth into the blender, added about a tablespoon of milk butter and pureed. It was a little chunky so I added a bit more of the liquid from the canned soup too. So the puree, chicken and noodles and stuffing was done and I need to do something with the cranberry juice. So, I made a sauce out of it. I put the juice into the hot pan the veggies were in to get that flavor and also more bacon and let that reduce and become a cranberry, bacon vinaigrette. I also put a few greens on the plate for color and crunch.

Chad was impressed and asked for seconds, as was I. :) The puree had an awesome color and and a great, creamy texture. The turkey bacon added a lot of flavor to the chicken and noodles and the cranberry, bacon sauce surprisingly had some depth. All in all, not bad.