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Well, you would look pretty silly if you walked into a traditional college classroom wearing your PJs, now wouldn’t you?  But I’m talking about the possibility of taking classes online.  It’s a viable alternative for people who don’t have the time to commute to traditional classes.

Some people still feel that somehow, online education is inferior to traditional classroom learning.  But this is not always the case.  Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, has won accolades from publications such as U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, The Princeton Review, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

Online master degrees are available there, for a variety of programs.  Unlike other online schools, some of Gonzaga University’s Masters programs  DO require students to come to campus, for at least one three day weekend.  But everything else is done online.

So, if you are an experienced professional in your field, and think you don’t have the time to further your education, think again.  Perhaps an online degree from Gonzaga University might be right for you!

Mystic, Connecticut, that is…the home of the famous Mystic Pizza restaurant (pictured here).  Yes, the same one that had a movie made about it…an early role for Julia Roberts.

No, we’re not going there to primarily visit this restaurant.  We had wanted to go there to visit the Mystic Seaport for a long time now, but never got around to it.

But then I saw on Facebook that the Shipyard Brewing Company is sponsoring a beer tasting and talk, featuring author Gregg Smith, who wrote a book called Beer in America: The Early Years – 1587 – 1840.   I actually already have this book, Mike bought it for me a couple of years ago at the bookstore at Old Sturbridge Village…I just never got around to reading it.  Well, I will now, and bring it to Mystic to get the author to sign it for me.

Mike is in favor of going, so I booked a hotel room and bought tickets to the event.  It’s one week from today.

Not sure if I should research restaurants and stuff before we leave, or hope that the free WiFi that our hotel advertised actually works, and do it from there.  I have one of those little netbooks, and it works just fine in hotels where the WiFi works as advertised. But some places advertise it, and it doesn’t work.  I hope the place we are going to is not one of them!

So maybe a little advance research wouldn’t hurt, just in case.  And yes, I think we will check out this Mystic Pizza joint…I know it’s a tourist trap, but why not?  I’ll try almost anything once!

I love chicken pot pie.  Lately, I have been seeing commercials on TV for Willow Tree Farms chicken pies.  They looked so tasty, and I was too tired to cook.  So I emailed Mike at work and asked him to stop at the store and bring one home.  All I would have to do is put it in the oven.

However, he went to Shaw’s, and could not find Willow Tree Farms pies there.  So he ended up bringing home a Mrs. Budd’s Fancy Vegetable Chicken Pie (pictured above).

So I heated it up in the oven, and it was very tasty.  It was very well-seasoned, no additional salt or pepper was needed.  We had the 36 ounce pie, which claimed to serve four people.  Four little kids, maybe…but we finished the whole thing in one night.

We would buy this again, but still want to try Willow Tree Farms.  I remembered that they advertised at the PawSox ballpark, with big cardboard displays, or whatever those ads on the outfield walls are made of. I Googled them and saw that they have a retail store down in Attleboro, MA.  However, they do carry the product in some supermarket…they have a store finder tool.  The local Shaw’s does not carry them, but the local Stop & Shop does.

As much as I don’t care for Stop & Shop, I will go there so we can try the Willow Tree pies.  We shall see how they compare to Mrs. Budd’s.

Still, the mother of all chicken pies around here is Harrow’s.  The only problem is that it’s almost impossible for Mike to pick one up on a weeknight, because their store in Reading is closed by the time he would get there after work.  They are opening a new one in Medford, which is closer, but still, we don’t know how late that will stay open.  I have no way to get there myself, so we can only get those over a weekend.

Stay tuned for a future post about Willow Tree Farms’ chicken pies!

Most of us have had fried rice as pictured here…from one of those Chinese take-out containers.  But did you know that it is wicked easy to make at home?  And for a fraction of the cost at a restaurant.  I learned how to make it from a Martin Yan cookbook.  I didn’t have to wait for Martin to hire the best moving companies Los Angeles (or does he live in San Francisco?) has to offer, and move out East!

Fried rice was invented as a way to use leftovers, especially leftover rice.  In fact, you CAN’T use freshly-cooked rice for fried rice – it’s too wet.  Leftover rice that has been sitting in the fridge will dry out a bit, and that is what you want.  If you do not happen to have any leftover rice laying around, just cook some up at least a few hours in advance.  Fluff it with a fork, let it cool to around room temp, and then refrigerate until cold.

Unlike Americans, the Chinese do not eat huge hunks of meat.  In their cuisine, meat is sort of like a condiment, mostly cut into small pieces and added to stir-fried veggie and rice dishes.  This is not only healthier, but very economical, as this is a great way to stretch a small amount of meat to serve more people.

In fried rice cookery, exact amounts are not important…it just depends on what you have on hand.

Tonight I made chicken fried rice, as I had a couple of boneless skinless chicken breast halves, left over from a big family pack.  I had not needed the whole package for the chicken enchilada recipe I made with them.  They were uncooked, but you could certainly use cooked leftover meat or even fish…shrimp is classic.

This is really quick to put together once you have all of the ingredients prepped.  You have to cook the rice ahead and chill as I said above, and the only other cutting I had to do was the chicken and the scallions.  The chicken should be sliced into thin strips.  You should also have ready some frozen peas & carrots (or any other stir-fry veggies), thawed.  Finally, crack open some eggs (two eggs for every three cups of cooked rice), and whisk them lightly.  You’ll also need some salt, pepper, and light soy sauce.  Low-sodium is fine.

Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat, pour in some vegetable oil.  I like canola oil.  Add the chicken to the hot oil and stir-fry until it’s no longer pink.  Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.  Pour in the eggs, season with salt and pepper, and cook until lightly scrambled.

Add the rice, and combine well with the eggs, which should be broken up into little pieces.  Stir-fry until rice is heated through.  Add some peas and carrots, stir-fry for a few minutes longer.  Add soy sauce to taste, chopped scallions, and stir-fry a couple more minutes.  Finally, add the reserved cooked chicken strips, and stir-fry until everything is heated through.

This is a one-pan meal, serve with crunchy Chinese noodles an/or fortune cookies if you’d like.  And feel free to experiment with different meats, veggies, etc.

Enjoy!

This is one of my favorite recipes from one of the first cookbooks I’ve ever owned – Martha Stewart’s Quick Cook Menus.  It can also be found in the Martha Stewart Cookbook, which is basically a collection of recipes from her previous books.

In my opinion, there isn’t enough spinach in the original recipe.  One pound of fresh spinach cooks down to almost nothing.  Instead, I use two 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach.  I just thaw them in the microwave, let cool, and then, when cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as possible.  Then I reserve 1/2 cup of this liquid, as directed in the recipe.

This, as well as the chicken-poaching, can be done ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to assemble the dish.

If you are taking weight loss diet pills, I suppose you could use light sour cream and low-fat milk.  Non-fat cheese, however, does NOT melt.  I know this from personal experience.  When I worked at Crapplebee’s years ago, they had a couple of *light* menu items, such as a quesadilla, that used non-fat shredded cheese.  Customers were forever sending them back, complaining that the *cheese* was not melted.  But the fact is, it will NOT melt.  I could burn the outside of the quesadilla until the tortilla is black, and that cheese still would not melt.  Hell, I could even put it in a rocket ship and shoot it up to the surface of the sun, and it probably STILL would not melt.

So use the real thing.  It’s only 6 ounces, for a dish that serves 6 people…not really all that much.  Although I admit that I use an entire 8 ounce bag of shredded Jack cheese for this.

The canned green chilies give the dish a nice bite, but it’s not volcano-hot at all.  If you like it hotter, substitute an equivalent amount of jarred jalapenos, chopped, for part or all of the green chilies.

On to the recipe now!

Green Enchiladas

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large white onion, finely chopped
1 lb fresh spinach, well washed
3 cups sour cream
4-ounce cans green chilies, drained and chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup milk
Coarse kosher salt to taste
12 flour tortillas
6 oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Poach the chicken breasts in a small skillet or saucepan with water to cover until done, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from water, cool slightly, and shred into small, bite-size pieces. Set aside.

In a small skillet, melt the butter and saute the onion until tender, about 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Lightly butter a large casserole.

Steam the spinach in a steamer or colander. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Let the spinach cool slightly; chop coarsely.

Combine the onion, spinach, sour cream, chilies, cumin, reserved spinach liquid, and milk; mix well and season to taste.

Add half the sauce to the shredded chicken and mix well. Place the tortillas in the oven to soften (about 3 minutes) and remove. Fill the tortillas with equal amounts of filling and roll up. Place the rolled tortillas seam side down in 1 layer in the prepared casserole. Cover with half the grated cheese and top with the remaining sauce; sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!