Domestic Diva

I am a domestic diva, y'all. Or at least, I have been for the past few days. It comes in fits and starts. :)

Here's why:

• I made this Cream Cheese Chicken, and it was oh so good. It actually reminded me of La Madeleine's chicken friand, with its creamy, mushroomy, chickeny goodness. And this is where the diva part comes in: I actually made the cream of mushroom soup that it calls for. Yes, people, I did. I know, I know, I am pretty impressed, myself. Truth be told, I just don't like the cream of mushroom that comes in a can. I think it has a funky flavor or a weird aftertaste or something. Anyway, I made the mushroom soup overnight, froze the excess, and kept out just enough to make the cream cheese chicken, which was what we had for dinner last night. It was good over pasta, but it was divine when mopped up with some Maple Buttermilk White Bread, which I made in the bread machine. Next time, though, I will use less salt and will add a little white wine.
• I am also making the bulk of Noah's baby food. Courtney recommended a book called Super Baby Food, and it has great ideas for how to make and store baby food. It also tells you what they can eat when, and so on. Now, before you rush off and buy this book, I must warn you that it is the worst written book I've ever read, and Courtney and I agreed that the author must have self-published it, because no decent publisher would have let this through, what with all its grammatical mistakes, horrible organization, and emoticons. (Yes, you read that right. She does things like this: "Your baby will love this :) !") However, it has a ton of good information. Anyway, my point here is that I feel like I'm doing something so good for Noah by making his food myself. That way, I know exactly what's in it. Plus, it's cheaper. And not too much trouble. You bake four sweet potatoes, puree and strain them, freeze them in ice cube trays, and you've got a month's worth of sweet potatoes. Nifty.
  
• Kendra's garden is producing tons of fresh, homegrown tomatoes, and this most wonderful girl is passing several off to me (everyone together, now: "YAY SUMMER!"). For dinner tonight, I am making Granny's Tomato Gravy. Oh, people, you have no idea. You just don't. Did you try the Banana Pudding? Remember its glory? The tomato gravy is right up there, too. It's going over some nice, fluffy biscuits. I might post the recipe tomorrow. If you're lucky.
• Last night, for dessert, I made Paula Deen's Fried Peanut Butter Banana Sandwiches. I saw her make them on TV yesterday, and y'all, that is the most decadent peanut butter banana sandwich EVER. It is the epitome of southern cooking: throw in extra sugar and fat, and you're set (in this case, you use an unholy amount of butter, then you roll the finished product in sugar and cinnamon). She suggested making these for breakfast or giving them to your kids as an afternoon snack. I was like, "WHAT Paula?! That is like an 879 calorie afternoon snack!" But I was mighty taken with how amazing they looked, so I made them for dessert last night. Yum.
• I made my quilted coasters! Here are a few of them:

What do you think? I think they turned out so cute!