Mad Men

I have been watching way too much Mad Men (and now I am finally caught up and I don't know what to do with myself while waiting for the next episode). Come to think of it, what will I do when they end the show for good? I don't even want to think about it! The show has inspired me to dress nicer and take pride in how I look, but to also appreciate what I have and my family. If you haven't watched any, I suggest at least watching one episode, just for me :)

Let's back up to this past Sunday, baking day. Now I didn't make bread since we still had a ton (apparently last week was not sandwich week) but I did make coconut macaroons topped with chocolate to take to Sarasota for the birthday extravaganza:

I used imitation almond extract instead of vanilla, and they came out pretty good. I can't remember which cook book I pulled them from. They did the job.

Since we came home with some left overs from Sunday I really didn't need to cook much, but  prior to our run on Tuesday night I figured some pasta would be helpful. Just some whole wheat penne with homemade mushroom sauce:

You can't really tell, but this wonderful dinner is in one of my gorgeous new bowls my Aunts got me for my birthday. I need to work on getting some good pictures of the dishes to share.

Since I am Mad Men obsessed, I have been cooking a lot from my 1950s Betty Crocker cook book(yes, I know, Mad Men in set in the 1960s). Last nights dinner was butter-kist chicken. The idea of the recipe is to take pieces of chicken that usually aren't very good or may have passed their prime, and make them good again. The chicken cooking:

I know this is not super healthy. Pretty much you simmer chicken in butter for an hour or so. Yes, I used chicken thighs with skin on, but a bag of chicken thighs is so cheap compared to boneless skinless chicken breast. The finished chicken:

Okay so it doesn't look all that appetizing, but it was so juicy and wonderful. I probably should have removed the skin to make it a little healthier, but the skin was soooo good! I didn't make anything else to go with it since I thought this would be enough for us, and it was, especially when you see what I made for dessert.
Dessert tonight was a boxed confetti cake mix made with applesauce instead of oil and then topped with my homemade strawberry frosting:

Yes, it looks funny, but I only had one round pan and one square pan and I didn't want to wait to bake two rounds separately, so I made an awkward cake. Again, not healthy, but the applesauce in place of oil made the cake almost angel food like. It was spectacular. Actually, I think I will go have a piece right now!

Until next time....well I don't have a nice photo for you today....so please go and enjoy the Mad Men website.