PF Chang's - Woodland Hills, CA

I am in California, Woodland Hills to be exact and it's a little on the chilly side. I guess it could be worse, I could be home in the new snow that fell last night. I am here with Ryan and his mother and stepfather, we are here to get him settled in to his new California groove.
We decided to eat at PF Chang's for dinner last night since it's just across from the hotel. The dinner was as good as it always is, if you eat at one PF Chang's, you've pretty much eaten at them all. The only reason that I decided to post about this place was because of the waiter we had. I overheard him telling the older couple at the table next to us about how long the wait can be on Friday and Saturday nights. He told them that he would never wait over a half hour to eat there, it's only Chinese food after all and you can get that anywhere. I'm sure his manager would not have been happy to hear him say that.
The restaurant is located at 2182 Oxnard St. Woodland Hills, CA 91367 818-340-0491.

Heading For California

Now that I have found my cell phone, I am headed out the door and on my way to the airport. I am going to L.A. to get Ryan situated in his newest life venture. I am becoming quite the traveller. I will return on Monday.

Haricots Verts with Lemon and Garlic

I was trying to come up with something other than green bean casserole to prepare this Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I love green bean casserole, but I was ready for a change and did not want to take up precious oven room for another baked dish. This dish was inspired by the wonderful green beans that you order in Italy, but they never taste quite the same here. This one turned out great and everyone really liked it, they did, they really, really liked it.



Haricots Verts with Lemon and Garlic

2 bags (12oz) frozen Haricorts Verts, thawed
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon

In a large skillet, melt butter; add olive oil. Stir in beans, garlic, juice and zest. Cook until beans are heated through. Serve.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

I prepared this recipe last week. It's a pretty simple weeknight recipe, but I think it could have been better if prepared the night before and baked the next day. It could also stand the addition of a can of black beans, rinsed, and added when you add the corn and some fresh green onion added as a garnish would be good. This recipe comes from Tables of Content from the Junior League of Birmingham, Alabama. My friend, Stacey, gave me the book and this is the first recipe that I have attempted from it. It's one that I would make again.



Chicken Tortilla Casserole


1 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 cups sour cream
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
15 (6 inch) corn tortillas
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish



Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add chicken, onion and garlic. Saute 8 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and reduce heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375. Combine the sour cream, 2 cups of Cheddar, Montery Jack and 1/4 cup cilantro in a bowl and mix well. Line the bottom of a lightly greased 2 1/2 to 3 qt. baking dish with 1/3 of the tortillas, tearing as needed to completely cover bottom. Layer with 1/3 of the chicken mixture, 1/3 of the corn and 1/3 of the sour cream mixture. Repeat the process 2 more times. Sprinkle with 1 cup of Cheddar cheese and bake for 25 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Oreo Balls

My sister made these for Christmas and they are just a little sinful, because you can't eat just one. I think, however, that they will become a Christmas staple at our house.

Oreo Balls

1 package regular size Oreos, crushed
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 package white almond bark

Using a blender or handheld mixer, mix Oreos and cream cheese. Roll into walnut size balls. Chill for 1 hour. Melt almond bark. Stick a toothpick in an Oreo ball and dip into almond bark, repeat until all balls are dipped. Allow to cool on wax paper.

Pumpkin Pie

This was my first attempt at a pumpkin pie and it turned out well. The only other pie I have made was pecan and they are simple too. I haven't tried to make my own crust, I just used a frozen one for this recipe. It seemed to take forever to finish baking, but the end product turned out well.

Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin Puree

1 can (12 oz) Evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie crust

Mix sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mix. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees, bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Cake Mix Cookies

This is one of those recipes that are so simple that even I can make it without screwing up. All you need is a box of cake mix, a few refrigerated items and you're pretty much there. You can use any type and any flavor and come out with some pretty tasty cookies. I used a banana cake mix and iced the cookies with Betty Crocker's Whipped Fluffy White Frosting, then sprinkled them with colored sugar.

Cake Mix Cookies

1 box cake mix

1 egg

1/2 cup milk (I used Skim)

1/2 stick butter, softened

Mix ingredients together. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees.