Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

I thought I would start out pretty easy. I haven't had A LOT of experience cooking, but I love to do it, so I'm learning. And as I learn, I will post. I have to admit, this is more just a place for me to store all of my recipes and adaptations all in one area, rather than scattered across Pinterest, Stumbleupon and various blogs/cookbooks. I've realized it's easy to bookmark a recipe or write one down, but why document it if it's going to taste like garbage wrapped in seaweed?
Instead, I've decided to find a recipe or create something of my own and I'll post the successes. Nobody needs to know about my failures. And YOU get a fancy recipe out of it recommended and TRIED by yours truly. So hopefully you enjoy and hopefully they inspire you to make your own changes and try new things.

My husband, Scott, had a lot of homework to do last night, so I thought I would make him a classic dinner. Some comfort food if you will. And what's better than mashed potatoes and chicken as a comfort meal? I will tell you right now, this is my FIRST attempt at mashed potatoes but these were delicious, creamy and I will be sure to make these again. [Warning: something this good, just cannot be all that healthy for you, so BEWARE.]

Another thing you should be aware of before I start the recipe-sharing, is that I am only cooking for TWO people right now, so be sure to adjust the recipes if needed.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients
3-4 potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 heavy cream
Salt and Pepper
1/2 tsp Seasoning of your choice (I used Garlic Powder but you could also use seasoning salt or roasted garlic cloves)

1. Peel and cut potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. (I just halved each one.) Bring large pot of water to simmer and add potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 20-30 minutes. When they are done cooking, a fork should easily slide through them with no resistance.

2. Drain potatoes. Place in bowl of stand mixer and mix on low for about 2-4 minutes or until the lumps disappear. 

3. Add butter, cream cheese and cream. Mix thoroughly. ( I added each ingredient separately, mixing well in between.)

4. Add salt and pepper and seasoning to taste. [I used about 2-3 dashes of salt and pepper and about 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.] Mix or stir with spoon/spatula. 

5. Place potatoes in buttered baking dish and add a few small slices of  butter to the top. Cover and place in 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes or until butter is melted and potatoes are warm. 

There you have it. Delicious potatoes that are REALLY easy to make. Last night I paired these bad boys with chicken in a mustard cream sauce I got the recipe of Pinterest and glad I did because it was also delicious. So lucky you: TWO recipes in one post. Enjoy! 

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

Ingredients

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp dried parsley (you could also use tarragon or oregano, which the original recipe calls for. I didn't have any in stock so I improvised. The parsley was very good.)

1. Add olive oil to skillet and heat pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. (You really only need a pinch of each or else you could end up with VERY salty chicken).

2. Add chicken to skillet and saute until cooked through, turning once. (Takes between 5-10 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breasts) Remove chicken.

3. Pour chicken broth into hot skillet and whisk in the cream, mustard and parsley. Cook and stir for about 2-5 minutes. Pour over chicken and serve. {This would also be delicious served over rice or pasta.} 

Well, That's all for now. I apologize for the lack of decent photo's. I was too enthralled with with the amazing aroma's and growing anticipation of these recipes to care too much about the photo's. 

All in all, these recipes were good basics (individually) and a GREAT comfort food meal, especially paired together.  I found the recipe for the creamy mashed potatoes on www.thepioneerwoman.com and the Chicken with Mustard Sauce came from www.letsdishrecipes.com (Both are GREAT food blogs so be sure to check them out!)

Thanks for reading, and remember- Always love. 

Here I Am.

Change is a good thing.

I've recently had quite a few changes in my life. For starters, I got married a couple of weeks ago and I moved to a different city. With these new changes and a wonderful husband, I am rediscovering myself.
However, rediscovering oneself takes time. Which is good, seeing as right now, I'm jobless, living in an apartment and alone most days while my husband is at school. Hence, I've got all the time in the world.

So I guess I've decided to succumb to the recently popular trend of blogging. I don't really know that much about blogging and I don't really lead an exciting life or anything and I am just writing to myself but there is something very satisfying about putting yourself out there, even if no one is listening.

I guess I should introduce myself and my blog.

Well, this is me. I'm quite small-around 5 ft, I have obnoxious hair and I don't know how to whistle. However, I do have some redeeming qualities (at least in my opinion). For starters, I love superheroes. Any and all, but I am a Marvel Girl at heart. Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, X-Men. It really doesn't get any better. I also LOVE anything to do with food. Cooking, Baking and Eating. I could go on about how making food is like an art and I love being creative and exploring new things in the kitchen. And I could tell you that I put a little piece of myself into everything I make, but really, what it comes down to is that I just love food. Don't get me wrong, I do love creating and designing and I love the endless possibilities with cooking and baking but at the end of the day, all I want to do is make food. The last thing I'll tell you about myself, for now, is that I have faith. I have a faith that a lot of people look down upon, or don't understand. I have faith in God. It hasn't been easy, no faith ever is, but the struggle and the brokenness are worth it. 

So that's me in a nutshell. 

Wife. Daughter. Sister. Baker. Chef. Superhero Fanatic. Believer. 

Of course there's a lot more to me. But that's what a blog is for isn't it? To reveal little pieces of yourself in everything you say and I suppose in the things you don't say as well. 

To be honest, I'm not really sure what this blog is. I plan on sharing my meandering thoughts, some recipes and food creations and the little inspirations that get me through the day. 

So to anybody that's out there, "I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars: We are here. We are waiting." (Transformers)

Sorry, I had to. It was perfect. 

In reality, if you're here, thank you for taking the time to get to know me, even for just a second. I appreciate you and you are pretty awesome. Enjoy!