At my house, I have an Instant Pot and a slow cooker, also known by the brand name, Crockpot.

As far as small electric kitchen appliances go, I also have a food dehydrator, an air-fryer, a countertop grill, a rice cooker, a waffle iron, a citrus juicer, an extractor juicer, an immersion blender, a Vitamix blender, a three-bowl hot pot, an ice cream maker, an electric skillet, a Cuisinart food processor, a KitchenAid stand mixer, 2 hand mixers, a deep fryer, a commercial coffee maker, a popcorn popper, an electric kettle, a 4-slot toaster, a Raclette grill, a sous vide, and the list goes on and on.

I bring this up not to brag about my plethora of appliances. The opposite, actually. If I hadn’t previously owned a cooking school, this would be embarrassing. The fact that the cooking school has been closed for coming up on 10 years makes it ridiculous! When I return to Arizona I plan to do some purging. One of the first things to go will be the Crockpot. When you have an Instant Pot, the slow cooker becomes redundant. In fact, all of the slow cooker recipes I’ve been posting these last two weeks have been made in Marissa’s Instant Pot on the slow cooker setting. Another thing that will be going to charity will be the popcorn popper. I bet that thing hasn’t been used for 25+ years!

As for the recipe below, Marissa and I discussed how to zip it up a bit more and decided that the addition of a diced bell pepper would be a good addition. That is added to the recipe below, though you won’t see it in the accompanying photos.

Instant Pot Lickity-Split Chicken Burrito Bowls

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 (1.25-ounce) packages taco seasoning
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 (15-ounce) cans corn kernels, drained
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups fresh salsa, homemade or store-bought
• 2 (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chiles
• 2 cups long-grain rice
• 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, additional for garnish
• Sour cream, garnish
• 1 diced tomato, garnish
• 1 sliced green onion, garnish
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, garnish
• Hot sauce, garnish

Set a 6-qt Instant Pot to “sauté” and adjust to “high” or “more”. Add oil, when heated, add onion and bell pepper and sauté until soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper, add the garlic, and turn off the pot.

Can you believe that I’ve been here in Chicago with Marissa, Jeff, and Max for all this time, have put up 6 recipe posts, and haven’t shared a single photo of Max? It’s called “Lola Restraint.” Trust me, if this grandma didn’t have that sort of restraint and fortitude, this entire blog would turn into a blog about Max! I will not keep you waiting any longer…

My beautiful 5-month-old boy, Max Cameron! Even with the pain in my knee, I’m enjoying every second of being this sweetie’s Lola.

We even took a walk through the fall leaves to Trader Joe’s to do some grocery shopping on the third day I was here. Although it is only 0.6 miles from the house, a 30-minute round-trip walk, we will definitely be taking the car the next time. My left knee and the right leg, which supports the other, were not happy with me! And it took quite a bit longer than what should have been 30 minutes. There is one more photo of Max and his mama at the end of this very luxurious and luscious recipe. xoxo

Until Saturday, November 12th, all of my immediate family were unicorns. Have you heard of them? A unicorn is now what an individual who has not contracted Covid-19 in these past long 2 3/4 years is referred to.

One of our unicorns has fallen. Jeff, who has been going into the office once again, contracted Covid-19. Upon waking up on that Saturday morning with a fever, he subsequently took a test to learn the bad news. He immediately began quarantining in the master bedroom. Marissa tested and was negative. I did not want to waste a test, since I don’t have as much direct contact with Jeff, deciding instead to only test if Marissa or Max came down with it.

Jeff had a rough Sunday, that is until we got him some Paxlovid. He is feeling better each day, told to quarantine for five days from contraction, so he will be testing again Thursday to see if he is negative and able to join the world again. (masked, for an additional 5 days, in accordance with the doctor’s orders)

As I type this, it is currently Tuesday, November 15th, Marissa tests daily, so far, so good! I fly out on Sunday morning to be home in time for Thanksgiving with my fellow unicorns, Connor, Dave, and my dad. Keeping my fingers crossed that all stays well and that M & M and I continue to be unicorns too!

I have been using the slow cooker much more on this trip to Chicago than on my month-long visit when Max was born in June. Mostly because I am his primary caregiver on weekdays while Marissa and Jeff are working. His longest nap is the first one in the morning, so I get everything prepped and into the cooker during that nap so that I don’t need to think about cooking for the rest of the day. The following recipe could easily be done in the oven, but then it would need more attention and I’d rather give all my attention to Max! *I made a half recipe, using only four chicken thighs. I found a Brussels spout sauté pack at Trader Joe’s that I served as the side dish.

Soup is always a good idea, especially on a windy, chilly, Chicago day. Typically, Zuppa Toscana has bacon, but Marissa and I decided that the Italian sausage was enough meat for one soup. I’ve added it as an option in the recipe below, so you do you. Another change to the classic soup is my addition of diced tomatoes. I felt as though the soup needed a bit more color and tomatoes are always a win for me.

Zuppa Toscana

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound mild Italian sausage
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juices
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 bunch kale, tough center stems removed and leaves chopped
• 1 cup half and half
• Cooked and crumbled bacon and/or freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Squeeze the sausage out of their casings. Discard casings.

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat, when hot, add olive oil, swill around the pot and then add the sausage. Cook, stirring frequently until sausage is lightly browned, about 5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a plate.

Marissa made this for dinner the other night and I love it! She made the recipe her own and found the original on a site called Gimme Some Oven. Marissa left out the corn, but when I make it, I plan to add it, so I’ve included it here. One point of contention between the two of us was the salsa I purchased when I did the shopping at Trader Joe’s. She requested salsa verde. She didn’t know that Trader Joe’s has two styles of salsa verde, the original and Hatch Valley Salsa, which is my favorite. I knew full well that when she asked for the salsa verde, she meant the original, but I bought my favorite. She was not pleased. Too bad, it was delicious!

Zucchini Enchilada Casserole

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored and diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, cored and diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 cups cooked rice
• 2 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken
• 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup whole-kernel corn
• 1 1/2 to 2 jars salsa verde, divided
• 2 large zucchini
• 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
• Possible Toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced red onion, sliced jalapeño peppers, sliced green onions, sour cream, and/or sliced avocado

I made this salad while I was in Chicago back in August. On August 31, 2022, to be exact, while I was literally trying to get out the door to go to the airport to head back home. Marissa and Jeff would be enjoying it after Jeff got back home from dropping me at O’Hare. That is why there are no “in the process photos” and why the avocado is sitting on the platter instead of added to the salad. This is also why there are roasted bell and poblano peppers added to the classic salad, I didn’t want them to go bad if the fridge after I left.

The big news is that I’m back in Chicago for three weeks. I arrived last night and today is the first day of my stint as the primary caregiver to Max. Marissa’s maternity ended yesterday and she is back to work today. Granted, she is upstairs in her office, while Max and I are hanging out downstairs, but she is truly back to work, so it’s just me and Max for the next three weeks. More to come on random life updates in the days to follow. Until then, please enjoy this classic salad. xoxo

Original Hollywood Brown Derby Cobb Salad

Brown Derby Dressing

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

Greetings from Les Petites Gourmettes’ Austin correspondent, Marissa, coming in today with a super simple gin/Kombucha/Aperol quarantine cocktail recipe. Austin has been similar to, I think, most other places as we all shelter in place and social distance. Luckily, Jeff and I can both work from home, so we work during the week and then take walks and bike rides around our neighborhood, do YouTube yoga videos, have Zoom dates with friends and family, watch movies, play games, and drink cocktails, and cook.

I have been cooking a ton while we shelter in place, and trying lots of great new recipes, but I am still too embarrassed to share my final products, which are often yummy, but usually not pretty. Maybe someday! In the meantime, we’ll focus on the bar cart…

For this cocktail, I used this recipe, but halved it.

Kombucha-Aperol Quarantine Cocktail

• 1 cup gin
• 3/4 cup Aperol
• 1/2 of a 16-ounce bottle chilled ginger kombucha
• Club soda
• 1 tangerine

My dad’s 89th birthday was last Saturday. Just as Easter was strange and different, so was this celebration. It was a far cry from the big Speakeasy Birthday Party we threw him for his 80th birthday. The photo below with Marissa and her Papa is one of my favorites from that day. Happily, I was able to find a way to make this year special with surprise guests.

My sister-in-law, Teresa, and her four sons all live in Idaho and Washington state. They moved there in the early 90’s, several years after she and my brother divorced. I arranged for all of them, along with Marissa and Jeff in Austin, to Zoom with my dad. His first experience with Zoom, was only the week before, on Easter Sunday when I brought him his food and he was able to see Marissa and Jeff. He was so happy and touched that everyone came together for this birthday, even if only virtually.

Since we still aren’t able to gather, I set up a social distancing dinner on his front patio. Connor and I brought the large swivel/rocker chairs from the back patio to the front and then we used a tape measurer to be sure that those two chairs, along with the loveseat and couch from the front were all more than 6 feet from one another.

I brought everything else from home, including the dishes, plastic drinkware, flatware, napkins, serving pieces, water pitcher, individual “tablecloths,” which were actually oversized napkins, and the vintage TV trays you see below. I scored those at Sweet Salvage several years ago. They are really quite hideous, but oh so nostalgic.

While the Zoom call was going on, Dave was picking up the birthday dinner I’d preordered from Beckett’s Table. It was the homestyle type of food my dad loves; Salad with Seasonal Vegetables, Meatloaf with buttery Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli, Dinner Rolls with whipped butter, and Carrot Cake for dessert. I’m only sorry I didn’t get any photos of it, I was too busy eating! Although I was able to snag a photo from the restaurant’s Facebook page. My presentation was not up to this level!