Just a typical Thursday night... or not!

Tonight will be epic. My little Rylee is going to his first midnight movie opening: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1. There will be costumes. There will be popcorn. There will be a very sad moment when his favorite character dies (Hedwig the owl; yes, I've already told him; no, it wasn't pretty). There will be laughter, gasps and tears. There will be yet another fun memory for Ryan & I to tuck away in our hearts.

On a side note, for those of you who know my penchant for numerical serendipity, I offer this little tidbit:

Rylee, who is 7 years old, will view the first movie of Year 7 at 12:07 in theater number 7.

Ryan called yesterday, out of the blue, asking me to locate "the Year 6 movie." After a pause where I finally caught up to the conversation, I confirmed he meant the HP movie, THBP. He said, "Yeah, OK, the last one. I need to get caught up before we go to the theater." Then he watches it, asks questions (actually listening to the long, drawn out answers, bless him) and further more allows me to read him The Tale of The Three Brothers.

That is dedication to one's family.

The comic relief was supplied by our puppy, who finally having learned his name, was flustered by these strange bipeds calling out to him from the box on the living room wall. ;-)

So, while y'all sane people are snug in your beds, we will venture forth in the blustery cold to watch the cinematic culmination of a decades worth of fantasy and dreams. For once in a very rare while, our quirky little family will fit right in with the humanity around us. Sweet dreams everyone!

Harvest Cake

Now, don't faint, but this recipe contains cake mix. Why? Because there was a box of it hanging out in the pantry (leftover from a friend's cake request) and I didn't know what else to do with it. Certainly not bake straight up & eat. Ugh. I'm a cake snob, so don't be offended if you love cake mixes. I'm just being honest about things here at the EE, where plain cake doth not a dessert make.

Harvest Cake

Yellow cake mix
eggs, oil & water according to cake mix instructions
1/2 teaspoon vanilla butternut flavoring OR 2 drops LorAnn oil in vanilla butternut
1 Tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 pitted dates
4 orange essence prunes
1 Tablespoon dried pineapple
1 Tablespoon dried cranberries
1 Tablespoon sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (ignore cake mix instructions).

Pour cake mix in mixing bowl. To this add:
Almonds, crumbled into pieces
Fruit, finely chopped
Brown sugar
Flavoring

Stir around to distribute ingredients.
Add eggs, oil, & water according to the cake mix instructions.
Stir everything together & pour into a greased cake pan.

Baking time is usually a few minutes longer than the time suggested on the package because the cake is being baked at a lower temperature. Do the toothpick test at the minimum time & continue baking accordingly.

If you want, a glaze made with confectioner sugar, milk, and flavoring can be poured over the top while the cake is still warm.
Another option is powdered sugar sprinkled on the top of the cake once it has cooled.
This cake is very moist & sweet, so it tastes good without anything additional!

Cheatin' Chicken & Rice

Sometimes we all need something fast & frugal. No, not that. Or that. I'm talking about a recipe...

Two of the handy little servants taking up space in the Emporium kitchen are a crock pot and a rice cooker. Things can be thrown in and taste great without my further input. Spectacular is the word that comes to mind in such an instance. Today, we're going to utilize the rice cooker.

There is nothing better than good, old fashioned, made from scratch, comfort food when the weather gets nippy. Unless it's a fast & frugal version of said comfort food. Then, my friends, we have the best of both worlds. You know the two worlds I'm referring to: 1) the Norman  Rockwell version where Martha of Biblical fame meets Martha Stewart and together they plan the dinner to end all dinners, otherwise known as Dream World and 2) the 5 a.m. dash to hockey followed by a school field trip, benevolence, classwork, housework, laundry, and a dozen or two more things before 11 p.m., otherwise known as Reality. No, I'm not bitter about the unrealistic societal expectations of the modern woman*. Why do you ask?

*She can go take a flying leap. I feel better just having said that...

Now, where was I? Oh, yes the recipe:

Cheatin' Chicken & Rice

In a rice cooker combine:
2 Cups white rice
1/2 stick salted butter
1 Tablespoon dried chives
1 Pinch curry powder
1 Pinch garlic powder
12.5 oz can white meat chicken chunks, smooshed* with a fork to break up lumps, liquid drained & reserved
                    *smooshed is a technical term, for those of you prepared to ask

For the liquid quantity you should consult the directions of your rice cooker. For ours, 2 cups of white rice requires 2 1/2 cups liquid. In a large measuring cup pour the chicken juice (a.k.a. liquid drained & reserved from canned chicken) and top it off with water to attain the proper amount of liquid. Chicken juice = Flavor

Now, turn on that rice cooker and walk away. When it is ready, toss together a baby spinach & apple salad and slice up a baguette. Open up the rice cooker and gently fluff the Cheatin' Chicken & Rice. Give it a taste, then salt & pepper to suit you family's palette. Yum & done!