A Get 'Em Girls Snow Day

I know it is still February, but I really was hoping that NYC has been blessed and would miss a significant snow fall this winter. I'm sitting home and the snow is steadily falling. So much for that wish.

So since I am once again sans folks in the house and they will be gone for two weeks this time around, and knowing that the snow was coming, on Wednesday night, I whipped out my copy of The Official Get 'Em Girls Guide to Unlocking the Power of Cuisine to see what I could cook up with the ground sirloin and chicken breasts that were in the freezer.

Now, I am the daughter of two pretty good cooks. My mom, who openly admits that she couldn't cook at ALL when she married my dad, can make anything from a cookbook or a Food Network recipe and make it look just like the picture. Sometimes the results are better than others, but I give her the A for effort in trying. Lately, because of her diabetes, she has been springing a lot of diabetic recipes on me and dad. With mixed results. My dad, however, the youngest of six and the only boy, can cook his BEHIND OFF! I have really learned a lot from him in just watching him work his magic in the kitchen. He loves to cook and the proof is in every dish.

While most of my male friends fail to believe it, I CAN cook. My repertoire might not be as big as Rachael Ray's (LOVE her!), but a sistah can throw down. I have made BBQ chicken, lasagna and collard greens (not all at the same time) for different get togethers and they have all gone over with rave results! I initally purchased the Get Em Girls cookbook because I was going to interview them for the website. One I purchased it and got it home, I was really impressed with all of the different recipes and was truly inspired to start working on some when the opportiunity arose. Back then I was thinking a get together, but since I'm not running in that circle anymore, this next couple of weeks alone offered the perfect opportunity.

After picking up some essential items at Stop N Shop last night, I woke up this morning ready to take on the cookbook's Black Bean Chili. While their recipe uses ground turkey, I used 80% lean ground sirloin. The recipe really wasn't daunting (it is in fact in their one pot "hot plate" chapter). And as it simmers on the stove right now, I can't wait to tear into it. The only thing I am trying to decide now is whether I am going to just cook a pot of rice for it or if I am going to also try their cheddar garlic biscuit recipe (I purchased the ingredients for that last night too).

While I would strongly recommend that you go out and purchase the book not now, but RIGHT now if you want to learn to cook, be it for that special someone in your life or just for yourself (cooking for yourself is a much healthier way of eating, yanno?), you can get a jumpstart on practicing for date night with the recipes on their website and get a new recipe each week in their Get 'Em Girls Newsletter. It's sent out every Wednesday, plenty of time to hit the supermarket and get those goodies ready for Friday or Saturday night.

Sunday or Monday night will be a ginger chicken stir fry. Although I am thinking about surfing Food Network to see what I can find...