What a lovely surprise!!!l

My friend Haley over at The Girly Girl Cooks awarded me with The Stylish Blogger Award!!!

Thank you so much for thinking of me! Being new to the blogging world, this makes me feel very special!

Now I get to pass on the honor of having a stylish blog by following these simple steps:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award. 

2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Pass the award on to bloggers you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic.
4. Contact the bloggers you picked and let them know about the award.

Seven things about me...

1. In exactly 45 days I will be en route to Australia for an awesome girls only trip with my wonderful Mom. She is the BEST.
2. The very first time I made guacamole, I was some where in the age range of 7-9. We were in Michigan for the Summer and as I was carrying it to the back patio, I dropped it right in front of everybody and it went all over the concrete. 
3. Growing up my family would come to Michigan every Summer because of my Dad's work . My parents decided to make this their permanent home in 2002. I wanted no part of it and stayed south. I came up here to work for the Summer of 2005, went back to FL in September and moved here permanently in November.  I never thought in a ZILLION years I would live here but now I don't think I could live anywhere else. 
4. The first time I tried to follow a recipe...it called for 3 cloves of garlic, at that time, I thought a clove was a whole head. Can you say YUCK?!?!
5. I am highly allergic to hair dye. I believe it to be related to a henna tattoo I had done at a fair once when I was 16. The so called henna is referred to as "black henna" and contains paraphenylenediamine aka PPD and is the main ingredient in hair dye. The darker the color, the more it contains. From what I have found on the internet, it's not very common. I have yet to talk to a hair stylist that has ever come across this. I have now sworn to my husband & everyone I will NEVER dye my hair again. I hope I don't gray early...
6. I LOVE pickles!!! All but the bread & butter ones.. When I was 2 my brother convinced me that my name was "pickle head". 
7. I have a 10 year old English Bulldog named Chloe. She snores so loud that I had to move her bed to the living room.

And now I pass this along to the following...

Beth @ A Slice of Southern
Heather @ New Mom in the City & Forever in Blue Jeans 

That's all I have for now! I will be back later with great eats from the weekend!

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The Mad Rooster...

is quite possibly the BEST burger on the planet...in my opinion. Who would have thought it would be so close to home??? I had been craving a good burger for a while and last night we went to the local pub, The Full Bull, to satisfy that craving...and that it did. The Mad Rooster consist of a juicy patty topped with a fried egg, pan fried ham, cheese and on a freshly toasted bun...served with FRESH cut fries...yeah, like I needed those on top of that!

So after I scarfed down the first half, I remembered to take a picture...and the rest is history.

That's all I have to share today.

I know it's a short one but I just had to tell you all about it!!!

PS-I'm making homemade pizza tonight!

TGIF!

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Oh my, my...Chicken Pad Thai

WOW...that was my reaction to the pad thai I made last night...not to boast, but it was pretty darn good! I haven't really dabbled in cooking Asian cuisine that much but I LOVE it... I have been telling Matt about this local place called Noodle Alley that I had heard good things about on yelp.com. Needless to say, we still have YET to go there...so when I stopped at the Martin's by my dentist's office the other day, I found they had a great little Asian foods section...stocked up and decided to make my own.

I have absolutely no idea if anything in this dish, besides the noodles, even classifies as an authentic Pad Thai, but hey...we liked it! So, here it goes...

Chicken Pad Thai

1 package pad thai rice sticks

1 package boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

1 can bean sprouts, drained or 1 cup fresh

1 colored pepper of your choice, sliced( I used orange)

1 med yellow onion, sliced

1 cup shredded carrots

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons ginger paste 

2 teaspoons hoison sauce

3 tablespoons peanut butter (crunchy or creamy, I used crunchy bc that's what I had on hand)

3 tablespoons soy sauce (I use kikkomon low sodium)

siracha hot chili sauce, to taste 

salt & pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1 bunch green green onions for garnish, chopped

I tend to add more of the ingredients as I am cooking, so feel free to ad lib!

• Soak the pad thai rice sticks in warm for 45 minutes. I bought a Sun Luck 13.2oz bag and ended up throwing some away. I think an 8oz package would be fine.
• For the sauce : mix the hoison, peanut butter, soy & siracha ( we like spicy, so I used roughly a tablespoon) to form a paste. Set aside.
• When the noodles are done soaking, drain water and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a wok over HIGH heat for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and garlic, cook for 2-3 minutes then add the onion, bell peppper, carrots and ginger paste. If you are using fresh bean sprouts, put them in as well, if using canned, you will use them in the end. Stir well, add the cover and continue cooking until the chicken & vegetables are done, about 5 minutes.
• Fold in the noodles, paste & bean sprouts (if using canned). Cook for an additional 2 minutes. 
• Serve in bowls and garnish with chopped green onions and extra siracha sauce if you dare!!!

Notice the little notes??? I thought I was going to to use the chicken stock & bell pepper but didn't end u needing it!

 Soaking

 Mmm spicy peanut sauce!

 Make sure the Wok is nice and hot

Toss in the chicken & garlic

Must have forgot to take pictures in between before and now but Lookin good!

Tada!

I really hope you all enjoy this as much as we did, especially Matt...

Finishing off his second helping...

I swear, I don't know where that man puts all the food he consumes.

I wish I had his metabolism!

Now onto more important things...

What's for dinner tonight???

I'll let ya know tomorrow...

Have a great evening everyone!

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I know today is Hump Day but last night was Taco Tuesday!!!

I don't know what it is about tacos, but I could think of a million things to do with them. You can make breakfast tacos with eggs and just about anything you have on hand in your fridge. There are fish tacos, steak tacos, ground beef tacos, pork tacos, chicken tacos...I better stop now, I am beginning to sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump. Anyways, I know what ever kind I end up making are going to be a hit because Matt, my husband, LOVES tacos and who am I kidding??? So do I! They are so easy and fun to make especially while sippin' on a margarita.

Spicy Verde Chicken Tacos

1 whole chicken

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon of oregano, maybe a dash or two for later

1 tablespoon of ground cumin, maybe a dash or two for later

salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 white or yellow onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced
10 pickled serranos or jalapenos, chopped (depending on how hot/mild you want, you can add/subtract)
corn tortillas
vegetable oil for frying

1. Put the chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Add the bay leaf, oregano, ground cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, place the lid on but leave a crack and reduce heat to medium to avoid boiling over. Cook for about 45 minutes, cooking times may vary from stove to stove. When finished, remove the chicken from the pot and place in a colander to cool. Remove bay leaf but RESERVE BROTH.
2. While the chicken is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes and add the onions, garlic and saute until the onions are tender. I added a few more dashes of oregano & cumin while cooking the onions to help them caramelize* Set aside when finished.
3. When the chicken is cooled enough to touch, remove the skin, debone and shred. Put the chicken, boullion cubes, onions, garlic, serranos or jalapenos in the broth and cook over medium to low heat covered for 1 hour. Stirring occasionally.
4. For the shells, pour vegetable oil in a fry pan until there is about 1 inch of oil. Heat oil to approximately 250 degrees. 
5. Place tortilla flat in the pan for a few seconds and flip over a couple of times(you may have to poke with a fork if it gets too puffy) ,using either a fork or tongs, fold the tortilla in half, holding one side above the oil allowing for it to shape. Hold for about 30-60 seconds, flip over and repeat. When to desired crispness, remove from oil and set in a paper towel lined pan. 
6. When your tacos are ready, garnish with your favorite toppings, such as sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa!!!

 

It's hard to say how many people this will serve, especially since Matt ate 6 tacos last night...in one sitting...I had 2 and there was plenty left over for his lunch today :)

For a quick and easy side, serve with your favorite Ranch Style Beans!!!

These are my favorite but hard to find sometimes. 

\

Then, I recently came across these and they are a pretty close match!

The Perfect Frozen Margarita
2 parts Sauza Silver Tequila
1 part Cointreau
Juice from one lime
kosher salt for rimming the glass
ice
blender, I use my turbo chopper because it is the perfect size for one

1. Fill blender with ice.
2. Pour tequila and cointreau and squeeze the juice from the lime with a lime squeezer into the blender and blend until smooth.
3. Wet the rim of you glass with the leftover lime, turn upside down and coat the rim with salt. Pour & Enjoy!!!

Well that's all I have for now...until next time!

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Welcome!!!

I love to cook. I love to entertain. I love to take pictures, especially of what I'm cooking.

I am starting this blog to share my love of cooking, taking pictures and hopefully learn a thing or two from others out there. I toyed with blogging briefly before my husband and I got married in 2008 but stopped simply because I thought to myself "what could I possibly talk about on here that I don't already share on facebook?" and then I started posting pictures of what I was cooking and people started asking...

Next step, trying to come up with a name. I searched high and low trying to come up with something clever, not cheesy, corny or what have you. Not to my surprise, most ideas I had come up with were already taken.  After a few days deliberating over a title, I decided to go with Eccentric Kitchen. I don't think that I would particularly use this word to describe myself all the time, but my kitchen always. A little out of the ordinary and definitely not by the book!


So, I encourage you to share this blog with family and friends as well as your recipes and pictures with me.


Looking forward to many good eats ahead!!!
Until then...CHEERS!!!

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