I always loved Sunday dinners at Grandma's and now that I don't live at home (or even remotely near home) I have to make my own version of Sunday dinner (and breakfast... and lunch...). So today is a great day for a full-out Sunday dinner because it's rainy and we worked hard on the house yesterday. So last night I told hubby I'd make breakfast tomorrow morning.
So I made a frittata this morning. So delish and so easy to make. I took four sausages and par cooked them in a skillet (with sides). Meaning, cook them almost all the way, but not quite. When they're browned and almost there, remove them and set them aside to cool. Then I sauted some broccoli in a little olive oil and then added some red pepper. When that's about done, add the sausage back in & season it. While that's cooking, in a bowl whisk 8 eggs (& season). When your eggs are whisked, put some shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar) on the broccoli/pepper/sausage mixture then pour the eggs on top of everything. Add some more cheese on top for good luck :) Then swirl the pan so there's eggs on all sides and let it be. When very little egg jiggles on top, pop it in the oven under the broiler. Leave it there for a while. It varies depending on your broiler. When it's done cooking, let it sit to cool a bit, cut up like a pie and enjoy! It's a colorful delicious meal.
Lunch for us today is snacky stuff because dinner tonight (early, of course) is Boeuf a la Bourguignonne. It's delicious and this time I'm making Julia Childs recipe. woot woot :) I'll update once it's made (and I'll include her recipe). But it takes 3 hours to cook in the oven, so you have to start early (in fact I'm a little behind already... oops...) So wait and see.... and bon appetit!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Weekend at the Lake
So I'm not cooking tonight because we went away this weekend, came back yesterday night and painted baseboards then cut and installed those baseboards, and then this morning, carpet was put in the guest rooms and the upstairs hallway. So I am tired, there's nothing in the house, and I had to play cat wrangler while the carpet guys installed our beautiful carpet. Check out facebook for pictures - it's beautiful.
But, I do have a wonderful Mother-in-Law dish to share. My mom-in-law makes Paula Dean look like a home cook. She's really quite brilliant. And she made this great appetizer last weekend that I decided to try and replicate this weekend for our friends. Happily, it turned out really well and our friends all loved it! It's pretty simple, but could be more complex depending on how you want to budget your time and ingredients. The appetizer is a cold dip, very festive for the Christmas season if you're interested, and quite delicious.
So it's a layered dip: white, green, white, red, white. My mother-in-law did it in a bowl with plastic wrap on the bottom so she could invert it on a plate. I wasn't feeling so ambitious. So I took two of my corning ware leftover dishes and made it in those plus a pyrex leftover dish. (I made a lot, there were about 20 people this weekend). So the white is a mixture of goat cheese and cream cheese. To make the amount that I did, I used two blocks of Philly Cream Cheese (reduced fat... save a couple calories) and two 4 oz. logs of plain goat cheese (mine had some herbs on the crust of the log to give a nice speckled look on my white). I mixed them by hand using the back of a spoon, which was fine, but I suppose you could use a mixer. Then the green is pesto. You can buy it, or you can make your own (like I did a couple days ago). I couldn't tell you how much I used, but Classico makes a pesto in a small container and I can't imagine it would be much more than 1 of those. And the red is sun-dried tomatoes. I bought an 11.7 can of sun-dried tomatoes and put them in my mini food processor to give them the same consistency of the pesto (and I put in the oil and it was just fine). I didn't use it all, but save the rest and I bet you'll use it at some point - even if only with your leftover pesto on crackers or something.
Then, obviously, you just layer them together. The goat/cream-cheese mixture is easy to layer on the bottom and wicked hard to layer on top of the pesto & sun-dried tomatoes. The pesto & tomatoes aren't solid-solid so it's hard to use a spoon to layer the cheese mixture. I wound up using my hands and molded the cheese like play dough in order to get it to cover the other layers. However you want to do it, though, works for me. It was a delicious dip and when paired with those flatbread crackers or the wheat thin crunchables? So good. Nice flavors, very rich and creamy, you'll love it! And thanks to mother-in-law for a delicious (easy!) appetizer!
Bon Appetit!
But, I do have a wonderful Mother-in-Law dish to share. My mom-in-law makes Paula Dean look like a home cook. She's really quite brilliant. And she made this great appetizer last weekend that I decided to try and replicate this weekend for our friends. Happily, it turned out really well and our friends all loved it! It's pretty simple, but could be more complex depending on how you want to budget your time and ingredients. The appetizer is a cold dip, very festive for the Christmas season if you're interested, and quite delicious.
So it's a layered dip: white, green, white, red, white. My mother-in-law did it in a bowl with plastic wrap on the bottom so she could invert it on a plate. I wasn't feeling so ambitious. So I took two of my corning ware leftover dishes and made it in those plus a pyrex leftover dish. (I made a lot, there were about 20 people this weekend). So the white is a mixture of goat cheese and cream cheese. To make the amount that I did, I used two blocks of Philly Cream Cheese (reduced fat... save a couple calories) and two 4 oz. logs of plain goat cheese (mine had some herbs on the crust of the log to give a nice speckled look on my white). I mixed them by hand using the back of a spoon, which was fine, but I suppose you could use a mixer. Then the green is pesto. You can buy it, or you can make your own (like I did a couple days ago). I couldn't tell you how much I used, but Classico makes a pesto in a small container and I can't imagine it would be much more than 1 of those. And the red is sun-dried tomatoes. I bought an 11.7 can of sun-dried tomatoes and put them in my mini food processor to give them the same consistency of the pesto (and I put in the oil and it was just fine). I didn't use it all, but save the rest and I bet you'll use it at some point - even if only with your leftover pesto on crackers or something.
Then, obviously, you just layer them together. The goat/cream-cheese mixture is easy to layer on the bottom and wicked hard to layer on top of the pesto & sun-dried tomatoes. The pesto & tomatoes aren't solid-solid so it's hard to use a spoon to layer the cheese mixture. I wound up using my hands and molded the cheese like play dough in order to get it to cover the other layers. However you want to do it, though, works for me. It was a delicious dip and when paired with those flatbread crackers or the wheat thin crunchables? So good. Nice flavors, very rich and creamy, you'll love it! And thanks to mother-in-law for a delicious (easy!) appetizer!
Bon Appetit!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Betty Crocker, you've met your match.
Yesterday I was Betty Crocker and June Cleaver combined. It was amazing(ly frightening). We're going away tomorrow to visit some friends at their lake house and were asked to bring an appetizer or dessert to share. Well, since I spend my summers at home pretending to be a stay-at-home wifey, I decided I could do both an appetizer and dessert because I know other people have to work every day. Well, I might have gotten carried away... We had so much zucchini, I knew I wanted to make my Nana's Chocolate Zucchini Cake and I had a great appetizer recipe from my mother-in-law. Then, I thought about breakfast, and decided to make some muffins too. So, yesterday, I made:
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
Banana Nut Muffins
Blueberry Muffins
Cinnamon Crumble Muffins
plus... a delicious comfort food dinner.
I used all our new toys from the wedding and watched 6 hours of HGTV. tee hee. I shredded zucchini in our Cuisinart (so awesome), mixed cake in our KitchenAid mixer, washed dishes in our rolling dishwasher, and baked everything in our 1972 oven. It was a good day. But the recipe I want to share right now is my Nana's Zucchini Cake. Nana is my great-grandmother and what I remember of her is a mixture of real memories and stories. My Nana loved my sister and I, probably because we were awesome, but more practically because we were the first great-grandchildren. But anyways, Nana was a great cook and loved my mama because she tried everything Nana put in front of her. My mom even ate raisins, which she HATES.
Anyways, Chocolate Zucchini Cake is a great way to get kids to eat zucchini AND it makes the moistest cake ever. This recipe makes one 9x13 cake or about 36-40 cupcakes. Yesterday, I made three batches. oy. I hope our friends are hungry this weekend... hubby even took a bunch to work today, haha.
Ok, I'm copying the entire recipe just as Nana wrote it, but I'll do some explaining and substitutes for people like me who had no clue what Oleo was.
325 degree oven for 45 minutes (about 30 minutes for the cupcakes)
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup oleo
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
4 tbs cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 zucchinis, 6 in. long, grated
Directions:
Cream sugar, oleo, eggs, oil, mix well, measure dry ingredients, add to creamed ingredients, add zucchini, mix well, grease 9x13 pan, add batter and pour chips on top & bake.
So... as you can tell, Nana liked to leave some stuff out. First, I'll tackle the ingredients. Oleo, come to find out, is a shortening like lard. I just used butter and it worked out just fine. 1/2 cup of butter is a full stick, let it warm up on the counter for a bit before using it to let it cream easier. Buttermilk - I don't know about you, but I don't have buttermilk in my fridge and, as luck would have it, my Food Network Magazine came in the mail and Paula Dean gave us a substitute for buttermilk! For 1 cup of buttermilk (I did this and just poured half of it in for each batch), pour in a tbsp of white vinegar (or lemon juice) then fill up to the 1 cup line with milk. It's awesome - works perfectly. Oh, and the cocoa. I didn't have any cocoa in my pantry but I did have baking squares. One baking square equals 3 tbsp of cocoa. So make do. Be sure to melt it a bit though, before adding it to the batter. And be careful when you melt it so as not to burn the chocolate...
But, this is so delicious. It's one of my faves and, thanks to my Grandma, I now have all of my Nana's recipes in one fantastic book. So look for more of Nana's recipes later, but enjoy this one for now! I'll let you know how our friends enjoy my baking efforts hahaha
Bon Appetit!!
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
Banana Nut Muffins
Blueberry Muffins
Cinnamon Crumble Muffins
plus... a delicious comfort food dinner.
I used all our new toys from the wedding and watched 6 hours of HGTV. tee hee. I shredded zucchini in our Cuisinart (so awesome), mixed cake in our KitchenAid mixer, washed dishes in our rolling dishwasher, and baked everything in our 1972 oven. It was a good day. But the recipe I want to share right now is my Nana's Zucchini Cake. Nana is my great-grandmother and what I remember of her is a mixture of real memories and stories. My Nana loved my sister and I, probably because we were awesome, but more practically because we were the first great-grandchildren. But anyways, Nana was a great cook and loved my mama because she tried everything Nana put in front of her. My mom even ate raisins, which she HATES.
Anyways, Chocolate Zucchini Cake is a great way to get kids to eat zucchini AND it makes the moistest cake ever. This recipe makes one 9x13 cake or about 36-40 cupcakes. Yesterday, I made three batches. oy. I hope our friends are hungry this weekend... hubby even took a bunch to work today, haha.
Ok, I'm copying the entire recipe just as Nana wrote it, but I'll do some explaining and substitutes for people like me who had no clue what Oleo was.
325 degree oven for 45 minutes (about 30 minutes for the cupcakes)
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup oleo
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
4 tbs cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 zucchinis, 6 in. long, grated
Directions:
Cream sugar, oleo, eggs, oil, mix well, measure dry ingredients, add to creamed ingredients, add zucchini, mix well, grease 9x13 pan, add batter and pour chips on top & bake.
So... as you can tell, Nana liked to leave some stuff out. First, I'll tackle the ingredients. Oleo, come to find out, is a shortening like lard. I just used butter and it worked out just fine. 1/2 cup of butter is a full stick, let it warm up on the counter for a bit before using it to let it cream easier. Buttermilk - I don't know about you, but I don't have buttermilk in my fridge and, as luck would have it, my Food Network Magazine came in the mail and Paula Dean gave us a substitute for buttermilk! For 1 cup of buttermilk (I did this and just poured half of it in for each batch), pour in a tbsp of white vinegar (or lemon juice) then fill up to the 1 cup line with milk. It's awesome - works perfectly. Oh, and the cocoa. I didn't have any cocoa in my pantry but I did have baking squares. One baking square equals 3 tbsp of cocoa. So make do. Be sure to melt it a bit though, before adding it to the batter. And be careful when you melt it so as not to burn the chocolate...
But, this is so delicious. It's one of my faves and, thanks to my Grandma, I now have all of my Nana's recipes in one fantastic book. So look for more of Nana's recipes later, but enjoy this one for now! I'll let you know how our friends enjoy my baking efforts hahaha
Bon Appetit!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Farmer's Market Dinner
I love farmer's markets. I think they're the greatest thing ever. I'm a big believer in eating local and buying local, and what's more local than farmer's markets! Or even your own backyard! My own garden is currently in containers because I was completely overwhelmed with my gardens when we moved in. So next year I'm definitely planting a veggie garden. Right now, my side porch holds a container with green bell peppers, a container with basil & borage, an earth box with summer squash & cucumbers, two pots with a tomato plant in each, a pot with chives, and a pot with hot chiles & thai chiles. The porch also holds our grill and sometimes we can even stand on it :)
Anyways, my basil is going crazy. I planted two plants from a 4-pack from your favorite greenhouse and mine, Lucas Greenhouse :). They are huge - I picked a giant bowl of basil today and I've been picking a handful every day for about two months. It's crazy. But I decided its time for some pesto. Pesto is typically basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese all blended then EVOO is added gradually to make it delicious and saucy. I have no pine nuts though, so I used a mixture of walnuts and almonds (cause I had both of those in my pantry). I use garlic like its water, so I buy a huge container of pre-minced garlic. I put in three heaping teaspoons of garlic and I sprinkled grated parmesan cheese to cover the top. Then I added probably 3/4 cup to 1 cup of mixed walnuts and almonds. On top, I filled my 14-cup food processor with basil. My guess is 6-7 cups of basil? Something like that. Anyways, I pulsed it till it was all chopped and then turned my food processor to 'on' and added oil till it looked like pesto. I split the pesto in half and put it in a container to freeze, so I have it for later. I bet I'll have to make a batch of pesto like this at least one more time before my basil is spent.
Hubby and I are eating healthy (he's working out right now) so we can try to lose some weight, so I am trying to plan more vegetarian dishes. Tonight we're having a pesto pasta. I'm making bowtie pasta (cause they're fun) and I chopped some grape tomatoes that I got at our farmers market (a pint for 1.50 - amazing). We are also so lucky to have a cheese farm (I don't know what to call it) nearby that sells goat cheese and feta. So I picked up some feta the other day and will top off our pasta with some feta. I make a full pound of pasta so we have leftovers for lunches, and will only eat a small portion tonight. I'll split it into four so we each get a portion tonight and a portion for lunch.
We'll see how my pesto turns out.. but this is truly a local dinner. I bet you can find great food at your local farmers market and I encourage you to try growing your own veggies! It's not hard (you just have to remember to water them) and you'll save so much money in the long run.
Bon Appetit!
Anyways, my basil is going crazy. I planted two plants from a 4-pack from your favorite greenhouse and mine, Lucas Greenhouse :). They are huge - I picked a giant bowl of basil today and I've been picking a handful every day for about two months. It's crazy. But I decided its time for some pesto. Pesto is typically basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese all blended then EVOO is added gradually to make it delicious and saucy. I have no pine nuts though, so I used a mixture of walnuts and almonds (cause I had both of those in my pantry). I use garlic like its water, so I buy a huge container of pre-minced garlic. I put in three heaping teaspoons of garlic and I sprinkled grated parmesan cheese to cover the top. Then I added probably 3/4 cup to 1 cup of mixed walnuts and almonds. On top, I filled my 14-cup food processor with basil. My guess is 6-7 cups of basil? Something like that. Anyways, I pulsed it till it was all chopped and then turned my food processor to 'on' and added oil till it looked like pesto. I split the pesto in half and put it in a container to freeze, so I have it for later. I bet I'll have to make a batch of pesto like this at least one more time before my basil is spent.
Hubby and I are eating healthy (he's working out right now) so we can try to lose some weight, so I am trying to plan more vegetarian dishes. Tonight we're having a pesto pasta. I'm making bowtie pasta (cause they're fun) and I chopped some grape tomatoes that I got at our farmers market (a pint for 1.50 - amazing). We are also so lucky to have a cheese farm (I don't know what to call it) nearby that sells goat cheese and feta. So I picked up some feta the other day and will top off our pasta with some feta. I make a full pound of pasta so we have leftovers for lunches, and will only eat a small portion tonight. I'll split it into four so we each get a portion tonight and a portion for lunch.
We'll see how my pesto turns out.. but this is truly a local dinner. I bet you can find great food at your local farmers market and I encourage you to try growing your own veggies! It's not hard (you just have to remember to water them) and you'll save so much money in the long run.
Bon Appetit!
Friday, July 30, 2010
It's been a while...
Sorry it's been a while. I've been doing other things (taping, mudding, painting, shelving, making curtains...) but I have been cooking. A few delicious meals lately that I wanted to share. Probably not cooking tonight since we're on our way up to our parents' for my sister & brother's grad party tomorrow. But this should tie you over till I cook again Sunday or Monday.
So we made grilled pizza the other day. It was so delish. One of our fave restaurants here has a flatbread pizza that we love so I wanted to recreate it, but on the grill. I made my own pizza dough - so worth it, it's flaky and delicious and just yum. It's from one of my Italian cookbooks that I think I borrowed from my grandma and never gave back.... whoops.
Pizza Dough
1 tbsp dry yeast (it's one packet)
1.5 cups lukewarm water
3.5-4 cups flour (approx) - I used a little less than 4 cups
1 tbsp. sugar
1.5 tsp salt
2 tbsp. shortening (Crisco) - yea, I used butter
1. Add yeast to water. Stir after 10 minutes.
2. Add shortening to yeast mixture.
3. Add dry ingredients, saving out about 1/2 cup of flour. (I put in 3.5 cups and left out .5)
4. Place dough on floured board and knead for 5 minutes, using whatever you need of the reserved 1/2 cup of flour so dough is not sticky.
5. Place dough back in greased mixing bowl. Cover tightly with saran wrap and let rise till double in bulk - about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Punch dough down and divide into four pieces. This makes four mini-pizzas - each piece rolls out into about half a cookie sheet.
Then, in my brilliant glory, I cut some goat cheese, scallions, and bacon for toppings. Hubster put some oil on the dough and dropped it on the grill while I cooked up chopped bacon on the stove inside. Hint: get the bacon that comes in those plastic containers and freeze it. It's so easy to take it frozen and chop it into tiny bits before cooking. And, it lasts longer.
Once the pizza was flipped, we spread goat cheese on top then added the cooked bacon & scallions. I was shopping quickly this week and accidentally got fig goat cheese instead of plain... I was worried, but it actually was delicious. A nice nutty flavor to counter the scallions and salty bacon. It's a great meal or a delicious appetizer. Whatever you prefer!
I'll share my asian inspired marinade another time... I am a self-proclaimed master of the asian cuisine.
Bon Appetit!
So we made grilled pizza the other day. It was so delish. One of our fave restaurants here has a flatbread pizza that we love so I wanted to recreate it, but on the grill. I made my own pizza dough - so worth it, it's flaky and delicious and just yum. It's from one of my Italian cookbooks that I think I borrowed from my grandma and never gave back.... whoops.
Pizza Dough
1 tbsp dry yeast (it's one packet)
1.5 cups lukewarm water
3.5-4 cups flour (approx) - I used a little less than 4 cups
1 tbsp. sugar
1.5 tsp salt
2 tbsp. shortening (Crisco) - yea, I used butter
1. Add yeast to water. Stir after 10 minutes.
2. Add shortening to yeast mixture.
3. Add dry ingredients, saving out about 1/2 cup of flour. (I put in 3.5 cups and left out .5)
4. Place dough on floured board and knead for 5 minutes, using whatever you need of the reserved 1/2 cup of flour so dough is not sticky.
5. Place dough back in greased mixing bowl. Cover tightly with saran wrap and let rise till double in bulk - about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Punch dough down and divide into four pieces. This makes four mini-pizzas - each piece rolls out into about half a cookie sheet.
Then, in my brilliant glory, I cut some goat cheese, scallions, and bacon for toppings. Hubster put some oil on the dough and dropped it on the grill while I cooked up chopped bacon on the stove inside. Hint: get the bacon that comes in those plastic containers and freeze it. It's so easy to take it frozen and chop it into tiny bits before cooking. And, it lasts longer.
Once the pizza was flipped, we spread goat cheese on top then added the cooked bacon & scallions. I was shopping quickly this week and accidentally got fig goat cheese instead of plain... I was worried, but it actually was delicious. A nice nutty flavor to counter the scallions and salty bacon. It's a great meal or a delicious appetizer. Whatever you prefer!
I'll share my asian inspired marinade another time... I am a self-proclaimed master of the asian cuisine.
Bon Appetit!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Chicken Soup for the Summer Soul
It's been a while, sorry. We finally got drywall up in the office plus did some much needed shopping for hardware, fabric, rugs, and tools. Now all we need to do is finish unpacking and maybe it'll start looking like a real home!
So I made a whole chicken yesterday for the first time and it was a bit of a nightmare. Tasted delicious, but it was quite the journey to get there. Anyways, Husband carved the bird and saved all the scraps for me to use for soup. And I decided today was a good day. Why make soup when it's freakin' humid & hot? Well, because I have piano lessons to teach this afternoon near the air conditioner, far away from the hot stove. Bazinga.
So I make soup differently than my sister makes soup which is weird because we both learned from my mother. Oh well. And I make soup differently than my mother-in-law makes soup which Husband used to be quick to remind me. However, he's come around to liking my soup too. [which is good, cause he wouldn't eat if he didn't.]
So to start, chop an onion, a couple stalks of celery (I do about 4), a couple big rabbit carrots (you know what I mean - I did about 4 too) so it's a mire-poix ratio of 1 to 1 to 1. Heat some oil on the stove in a huge soup pot and drop those babies in so they can cook for a bit. I pepper them only because I wind up over salting things I think and it's just better to let people salt their own soup - esp since I like to use parm cheese instead of salt at the end. Anyways, pepper it a bit and let them cook out for oh, 5ish minutes? Then drop your chicken bones in. I put the carcass [what a gross sounding word. carcass] in an the wings cause we never eat those. Then fill 'er up. With water. Seriously, fill the pot. Well not completely full, but you know, full enough. Then let it cook down and render out all that delicious chickenness. You'll have to let it simmer and cook for about an hour or so, longer if you want, shorter if you're in a rush. I usually let mine go for 1.5 to 2 hours. And be sure to scrape off the fat that rises to the surface. That's the gross stuff.
Once the stock has reached the color you like - it really is up to you. Take out all the bones. And try really hard to take out all the bones cause inevitably you'll forget one and find it when you're eating, but try. Those suckers are tiny. Then you can do a couple of things, you'll want to add chicken, but it's up to you how you do it. You can take raw chicken cut it to tiny pieces and poach it in the stock, you can take pre-cooked chicken from a previous meal and let it heat in the soup, or you can brown some chicken on the stove, par cook it, and let it cook the rest of the way in the soup. Whatever you want, add chicken next. Then I add my noodles to cook right in the soup. I use acine de pepe which are small noodles that are delicious and so made for chicken soup, but Husband doesn't always like them. He likes bigger noodles. So we've been experimenting lately. But today, I'm using acine de pepe. Then, secret ingredient... I whisk two eggs together and fiercely stir them into the soup. They're delicious. Serve with whatever you like - I like to put parmesan cheese on top of mine and eat with some delicious bread. Which I also made last week. Dang, I need to get more planning for next year done. I've been baking too much...
Oh well, bon appetit!
So I made a whole chicken yesterday for the first time and it was a bit of a nightmare. Tasted delicious, but it was quite the journey to get there. Anyways, Husband carved the bird and saved all the scraps for me to use for soup. And I decided today was a good day. Why make soup when it's freakin' humid & hot? Well, because I have piano lessons to teach this afternoon near the air conditioner, far away from the hot stove. Bazinga.
So I make soup differently than my sister makes soup which is weird because we both learned from my mother. Oh well. And I make soup differently than my mother-in-law makes soup which Husband used to be quick to remind me. However, he's come around to liking my soup too. [which is good, cause he wouldn't eat if he didn't.]
So to start, chop an onion, a couple stalks of celery (I do about 4), a couple big rabbit carrots (you know what I mean - I did about 4 too) so it's a mire-poix ratio of 1 to 1 to 1. Heat some oil on the stove in a huge soup pot and drop those babies in so they can cook for a bit. I pepper them only because I wind up over salting things I think and it's just better to let people salt their own soup - esp since I like to use parm cheese instead of salt at the end. Anyways, pepper it a bit and let them cook out for oh, 5ish minutes? Then drop your chicken bones in. I put the carcass [what a gross sounding word. carcass] in an the wings cause we never eat those. Then fill 'er up. With water. Seriously, fill the pot. Well not completely full, but you know, full enough. Then let it cook down and render out all that delicious chickenness. You'll have to let it simmer and cook for about an hour or so, longer if you want, shorter if you're in a rush. I usually let mine go for 1.5 to 2 hours. And be sure to scrape off the fat that rises to the surface. That's the gross stuff.
Once the stock has reached the color you like - it really is up to you. Take out all the bones. And try really hard to take out all the bones cause inevitably you'll forget one and find it when you're eating, but try. Those suckers are tiny. Then you can do a couple of things, you'll want to add chicken, but it's up to you how you do it. You can take raw chicken cut it to tiny pieces and poach it in the stock, you can take pre-cooked chicken from a previous meal and let it heat in the soup, or you can brown some chicken on the stove, par cook it, and let it cook the rest of the way in the soup. Whatever you want, add chicken next. Then I add my noodles to cook right in the soup. I use acine de pepe which are small noodles that are delicious and so made for chicken soup, but Husband doesn't always like them. He likes bigger noodles. So we've been experimenting lately. But today, I'm using acine de pepe. Then, secret ingredient... I whisk two eggs together and fiercely stir them into the soup. They're delicious. Serve with whatever you like - I like to put parmesan cheese on top of mine and eat with some delicious bread. Which I also made last week. Dang, I need to get more planning for next year done. I've been baking too much...
Oh well, bon appetit!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Asparagus Risotto Deliciousness
So I just finished making asparagus risotto. It was the most delicious thing I've made yet this week. It's a little intimidating and completely new to me, but so good. So risotto is a rice dish (vegetarian, sweet) that you have to stir constantly which is kind of a pain in the butt, but makes for some sweet eats.
So since I've never made risotto before I consulted epicurious on my phone - but you can try it at epicurious.com. It's a great reference and resource. Anyways, you have to get Arborio rice, which is expensive, but so worth it. So first, I put my asparagus 2-in pieces in hot water for 2 minutes before I drained them and then put them in cold water. While I did that I brought 5 cups of chicken broth (or if you're going completely vegetarian, some other broth...) to a simmer. Then, I chopped a small onion and put it in a skillet with sides with some EVOO till the onion was clear. Then, add a cup and a half of rice with a wine glass full of white wine. Let that soak up, stirring, for a bit. Then start adding your simmering broth a cup at a time. You have to stir constantly so it'll take about 20 minutes. Mine took 20 exactly - so weird.
So, once all your broth has been added, let the rice soak it up - it will. Oh, and your burner should be about Medium. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. Anyways, then add your asparagus and stir for about 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and add half a stick of butter (preferably cut up). Stir that in then add parmesan cheese, however much you want, but remember that it's gonna give a salty taste. Season it with pepper (the parm cheese will do the salt) and serve! It's so delicious. So great.
Anyways, risotto is wonderful, so enjoy it and good luck! You'll have a great meal and hopefully learn a new dish! Bon appetit!
So since I've never made risotto before I consulted epicurious on my phone - but you can try it at epicurious.com. It's a great reference and resource. Anyways, you have to get Arborio rice, which is expensive, but so worth it. So first, I put my asparagus 2-in pieces in hot water for 2 minutes before I drained them and then put them in cold water. While I did that I brought 5 cups of chicken broth (or if you're going completely vegetarian, some other broth...) to a simmer. Then, I chopped a small onion and put it in a skillet with sides with some EVOO till the onion was clear. Then, add a cup and a half of rice with a wine glass full of white wine. Let that soak up, stirring, for a bit. Then start adding your simmering broth a cup at a time. You have to stir constantly so it'll take about 20 minutes. Mine took 20 exactly - so weird.
So, once all your broth has been added, let the rice soak it up - it will. Oh, and your burner should be about Medium. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. Anyways, then add your asparagus and stir for about 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and add half a stick of butter (preferably cut up). Stir that in then add parmesan cheese, however much you want, but remember that it's gonna give a salty taste. Season it with pepper (the parm cheese will do the salt) and serve! It's so delicious. So great.
Anyways, risotto is wonderful, so enjoy it and good luck! You'll have a great meal and hopefully learn a new dish! Bon appetit!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
I finally, at 3:30pm, took a shower. It's one of those days. I woke up and had my coffee leisurely while reading a book (since I read a book a day during the summer). Then I decided to tackle my laundry room. What on earth possessed me to do that...
Anyways, I began ripping out the linoleum, cleaned the floor, and started laying new peel-n-stick tiles. I didn't think it would be that hard, but, of course, nothing is straight and level. So I feel like I'm putting together a puzzle to make these tiles look normal. Whatev. Good thing it's a laundry room and the only people going in and out of there are going to be hubby & me. So, not quite done, but so much better than before already. Now I just need to get the rest of the wall painted, the rest of the floor done, and all of the laundry room goodies back in their places.
But the real reason it's gonna be one of those days is because, in my infinite can-do wisdom, I decided that teaching three consecutive piano lessons for three hours beginning at 5 would be a good idea. Not so much - especially when one also decides to begin a blogging experience that requires one to cook every night. Stupid. But, at least I can still cook. Well, prep. Hubby will cook for himself and I'll do mine when lessons are over.
So I prepped everything for our simple summer meal. I took chicken out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter till it pretty much thawed through - which was about 1pm. Then I searched through my fridge for something to marinate it with - I found this Asian Sesame salad dressing that smelled good, so poured some of that on the chicken and back in the fridge it goes! I took our some hamburger rolls to thaw (still sitting on the counter) and decided on a green salad and asparagus for sides.
Hubby will grill chicken when he gets home and grill asparagus in our handy dandy veggie basket for the grill. It's sweet and a fantastic tool/gift for the griller in your life. Even if that griller is you. Not too exciting and not many risks taken, but sometimes, you need one of those days.
Bon appetit! I'll be thinking of you all eating while I'm sitting at a piano teaching Fur Elise for the twentimillionth time....
Anyways, I began ripping out the linoleum, cleaned the floor, and started laying new peel-n-stick tiles. I didn't think it would be that hard, but, of course, nothing is straight and level. So I feel like I'm putting together a puzzle to make these tiles look normal. Whatev. Good thing it's a laundry room and the only people going in and out of there are going to be hubby & me. So, not quite done, but so much better than before already. Now I just need to get the rest of the wall painted, the rest of the floor done, and all of the laundry room goodies back in their places.
But the real reason it's gonna be one of those days is because, in my infinite can-do wisdom, I decided that teaching three consecutive piano lessons for three hours beginning at 5 would be a good idea. Not so much - especially when one also decides to begin a blogging experience that requires one to cook every night. Stupid. But, at least I can still cook. Well, prep. Hubby will cook for himself and I'll do mine when lessons are over.
So I prepped everything for our simple summer meal. I took chicken out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter till it pretty much thawed through - which was about 1pm. Then I searched through my fridge for something to marinate it with - I found this Asian Sesame salad dressing that smelled good, so poured some of that on the chicken and back in the fridge it goes! I took our some hamburger rolls to thaw (still sitting on the counter) and decided on a green salad and asparagus for sides.
Hubby will grill chicken when he gets home and grill asparagus in our handy dandy veggie basket for the grill. It's sweet and a fantastic tool/gift for the griller in your life. Even if that griller is you. Not too exciting and not many risks taken, but sometimes, you need one of those days.
Bon appetit! I'll be thinking of you all eating while I'm sitting at a piano teaching Fur Elise for the twentimillionth time....
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Asian Pork Tenderloin, Part 2
Part Deux begins with checking the pork that's been marinating. Hubby is cleaning up right now so I can post on my fabulous dinner. Also, I should note, "Meals for Megan" is made possible because Megan lives on the west coast (I can't remember if I wrote that already or not).
So, I took the pork out of the fridge to let it get to room temp before cooking. While it warmed up, I took out my zucchini, grillin' beans, a cucumber and two tomatoes. I started with the cuc and the tomatoes and I made my salad that I had made last night. I love it - it's my summer staple and I absolutely love it, so I make it all the time. While I'm chopping away, hubby came home and turned on the grill. I don't grill, hubby does. He also cleans up if I prep. It's a pretty sweet deal.
So I had some goat cheese from a local farm out with crackers and we munched on those while we cooked. Pork goes on the grill (must consult hubby for times) - pork is cooked for about 30 minutes, turned four times for cross marks or turned once, 15 min on a side, at 450 ish. Part way through he put zucchini spears on too - about 10 minutes, also turned once. Zucchini was tossed with EVOO, salt & peppa, and some lemon juice.
Then, when the zucchini went on the grill, I opened a can of whoop ass.... just kidding... a can of Bush's Grilling Beans, the brown sugar and bourbon kind, on the stove. We hadn't tried those before, but they were delish. So when everything was done, we plated our to-go containers first so they could cool before putting them in the fridge. So a delicious dinner, with leftovers for a delicious lunch tomorrow.
So no great tips for this post. Except maybe our fave new glass-a-night wine: Black Box. I heart it. Our local ine store just started carrying it and we buy it so they don't discontinue it. We tend to favor the cab sauv and lately we've been putting a box in the fridge of either their sauv blanc or their chard. I like the sauv blanc Black Box style, but not the bottle style. Husband-of-the-year (for cleaning up) likes the bottle style but not black box. So we compromise on the chard which we both like black box. Anyways, they're a fantastic alternative to bottles. They last longer, they're less expensive, and they don't use glass or cork, so I guess they're better for the environment.
Well, bon appetit and I wish you luck with your pork! It's delish... you'll love it :)
So, I took the pork out of the fridge to let it get to room temp before cooking. While it warmed up, I took out my zucchini, grillin' beans, a cucumber and two tomatoes. I started with the cuc and the tomatoes and I made my salad that I had made last night. I love it - it's my summer staple and I absolutely love it, so I make it all the time. While I'm chopping away, hubby came home and turned on the grill. I don't grill, hubby does. He also cleans up if I prep. It's a pretty sweet deal.
So I had some goat cheese from a local farm out with crackers and we munched on those while we cooked. Pork goes on the grill (must consult hubby for times) - pork is cooked for about 30 minutes, turned four times for cross marks or turned once, 15 min on a side, at 450 ish. Part way through he put zucchini spears on too - about 10 minutes, also turned once. Zucchini was tossed with EVOO, salt & peppa, and some lemon juice.
Then, when the zucchini went on the grill, I opened a can of whoop ass.... just kidding... a can of Bush's Grilling Beans, the brown sugar and bourbon kind, on the stove. We hadn't tried those before, but they were delish. So when everything was done, we plated our to-go containers first so they could cool before putting them in the fridge. So a delicious dinner, with leftovers for a delicious lunch tomorrow.
So no great tips for this post. Except maybe our fave new glass-a-night wine: Black Box. I heart it. Our local ine store just started carrying it and we buy it so they don't discontinue it. We tend to favor the cab sauv and lately we've been putting a box in the fridge of either their sauv blanc or their chard. I like the sauv blanc Black Box style, but not the bottle style. Husband-of-the-year (for cleaning up) likes the bottle style but not black box. So we compromise on the chard which we both like black box. Anyways, they're a fantastic alternative to bottles. They last longer, they're less expensive, and they don't use glass or cork, so I guess they're better for the environment.
Well, bon appetit and I wish you luck with your pork! It's delish... you'll love it :)
Asian Pork Tenderloinm Part 1
First installment - this is a two-parter. So I finished painting three walls in our office this morning plus I did the last touch-up mudding in the laundry room. Now hubby needs to finish putting up drywall so I can tape, mud, and paint! But that has nothing to do with food...
After lunch today I took out the two tenderloins for dinner tonight/lunch tomorrow and removed the silver skin so I could marinate them in huge ziploc freezer bags. I mix my marinade in a liquid measuring cup cause it's easier to see how much i'm making. So I put about a third cup of sesame oil, then a quarter cup soy sauce, with a tsp of mustard, about a clove of garlic, and about a tsp and a half i think of grated ginger. Then I put some Siracha sauce cause it's spicy and delicious and mix and taste. If it tastes good, leave it, if not, add whatever you want. I usually put more mustard or siracha in if I don't like it. Mix well, pour over the tenderloin in the bag, zip and fridge it flipping it every hour and a half or so.
Trick with ginger - the pre-grated & ground stuff just isn't good enough. Go to the store and get a ginger root, clean it (get rid of the fuzzy stuff), and put it in a ziploc bag in the freezer. This way, when you need it, you just get your handy dandy microplane grater and grate some fresh. It grates better when its frozen and it stays good for longer.
Now I have to clean my kitchen from yesterday... I was lazy last night and didn't want to clean it up. Be back later for part deux...
After lunch today I took out the two tenderloins for dinner tonight/lunch tomorrow and removed the silver skin so I could marinate them in huge ziploc freezer bags. I mix my marinade in a liquid measuring cup cause it's easier to see how much i'm making. So I put about a third cup of sesame oil, then a quarter cup soy sauce, with a tsp of mustard, about a clove of garlic, and about a tsp and a half i think of grated ginger. Then I put some Siracha sauce cause it's spicy and delicious and mix and taste. If it tastes good, leave it, if not, add whatever you want. I usually put more mustard or siracha in if I don't like it. Mix well, pour over the tenderloin in the bag, zip and fridge it flipping it every hour and a half or so.
Trick with ginger - the pre-grated & ground stuff just isn't good enough. Go to the store and get a ginger root, clean it (get rid of the fuzzy stuff), and put it in a ziploc bag in the freezer. This way, when you need it, you just get your handy dandy microplane grater and grate some fresh. It grates better when its frozen and it stays good for longer.
Now I have to clean my kitchen from yesterday... I was lazy last night and didn't want to clean it up. Be back later for part deux...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Spaghetti & Meatballs!
Alright, dinner tonight was a success! First, I forgot to explain earlier. The Meals for Megan that I'm doing are for my bff Meg who lives in California. Hence, why I'm able to post now and she can read it as she makes dinner on the west coast.
So when making all of this, you have to do it in the right order. It is never acceptable to use jarred sauce. G'ma would flip. [so would Gram in her grave]. It is also never acceptable to use frozen meatballs. You always make your own, homemade, of both. So first, make the sauce so it has time to simmer.
Giant pot with some EVOO on the bottom - some garlic minced on the bottom to brown. [Notice I use no measurements, it's cause I as never taught using measurements. I'll try to make some up for you though...]. Uh, two tablespoons EVOO, about 2 cloves of garlic. Once that's simmering & browning, open two jars of crushed tomatoes and add to the pot. To clean out the jars for recycling, slosh about half a jar of water in each and pour into the pot. Add some salt, pepper, basil (fresh preferred, dried acceptable), and crushed red pepper if you want it spicy. Note: NEVER EVER EVER put oregano in spaghetti sauce. Oregano goes in pizza sauce, not pasta sauce.
Once the sauce is brewin', start making some meatballs! It's best to use meatloaf mix but if your local supermarket doesn't carry it, make your own! I make lots of meatballs cause my hubby likes them for lunch so sorry, but it's gonna be a lot. I eyeball everything but the general rule of thumb is 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 to 1. So, 1 pound of meat, 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 1 cup of breadcrumbs, 1 egg, some parsley, some garlic in a bowl. Mix with your hands (spoons just don't have enough love), and form into balls. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, put meatballs on a baking sheet and bake till they're done. Oh right, measurements... uh, about 10 minutes? Then, let them cool for half a second on the pan and put them right into the sauce until you're ready to use them.
Boil water for pasta (any pasta will do) once it's boiling, add some salt and the pasta. Cook till it's al dente - italian for "tooth" - so, till there's just enough bite. It's delish.
Then, put some sauce at the bottom of a bowl, put the drained pasta on there, sauce on top, and add some meatballs. Enjoy with some parmesan cheese on top if you want!
Bon Appetit!!
So when making all of this, you have to do it in the right order. It is never acceptable to use jarred sauce. G'ma would flip. [so would Gram in her grave]. It is also never acceptable to use frozen meatballs. You always make your own, homemade, of both. So first, make the sauce so it has time to simmer.
Giant pot with some EVOO on the bottom - some garlic minced on the bottom to brown. [Notice I use no measurements, it's cause I as never taught using measurements. I'll try to make some up for you though...]. Uh, two tablespoons EVOO, about 2 cloves of garlic. Once that's simmering & browning, open two jars of crushed tomatoes and add to the pot. To clean out the jars for recycling, slosh about half a jar of water in each and pour into the pot. Add some salt, pepper, basil (fresh preferred, dried acceptable), and crushed red pepper if you want it spicy. Note: NEVER EVER EVER put oregano in spaghetti sauce. Oregano goes in pizza sauce, not pasta sauce.
Once the sauce is brewin', start making some meatballs! It's best to use meatloaf mix but if your local supermarket doesn't carry it, make your own! I make lots of meatballs cause my hubby likes them for lunch so sorry, but it's gonna be a lot. I eyeball everything but the general rule of thumb is 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 to 1. So, 1 pound of meat, 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 1 cup of breadcrumbs, 1 egg, some parsley, some garlic in a bowl. Mix with your hands (spoons just don't have enough love), and form into balls. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, put meatballs on a baking sheet and bake till they're done. Oh right, measurements... uh, about 10 minutes? Then, let them cool for half a second on the pan and put them right into the sauce until you're ready to use them.
Boil water for pasta (any pasta will do) once it's boiling, add some salt and the pasta. Cook till it's al dente - italian for "tooth" - so, till there's just enough bite. It's delish.
Then, put some sauce at the bottom of a bowl, put the drained pasta on there, sauce on top, and add some meatballs. Enjoy with some parmesan cheese on top if you want!
Bon Appetit!!
Hallelu! We're back!
Ok, thank goodness for summer, even though the heat makes me angry. School is out, kitchen is unpacked [finally], and I've had a huge request to make weekly meal plans. So here you go, my first shot at creating "Meals for Megan", a weekly plan. So I went shopping this afternoon for my week of meals. Now, if you decide to make my week of meals too, please look carefully at my recipes too cause some things that I have in my fridge and pantry, you may not. So i'll try to include everything [whether or not I buy it this week] in my shopping list. My goal is to take a page from Rachael Ray and do a whole week of meals for under $100. We'll see if I can do it.
Alright Meg, here you go:
This week I'm trying to recover from our crazy past weekend where we ate our way through two graduations. My brother & hubby's cousin both graduated from high school and we had a great weekend of celebrating and, as any good Italian family does, eating. It was crazy. So we're trying to eat healthier, portion-controlled, and with a variety of proteins. Eat them in whatever order you want, but my week is going to be:
Monday: Spaghetti & Meatballs with Garlic Bread & Cucumber/Tomato Salad
[or i might make baked macaroni in meat sauce... i can't decide]
Tuesday: Asian Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Zucchini and Brown Rice
Wednesday: Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Green Salad
Thursday: Asparagus Risotto with... something... cucumber/tomato salad or i dont know...
Friday: Swordfish steaks with a red pepper sauce with broccoli mashed potatoes
So... I went to our local P&C [which is in the process of changing over to a Tops]. I buy for 4 portions usually because we then use leftovers for lunches. Here's my shopping list with prices as best as I can split up by meal:
Spaghetti & Meatballs with Garlic Bread & Cucumber/Tomato Salad
Texas Toast... 2.19
Ground Pork (1 lb)... 2.91
Ground Beef (1 lb)... 3.69
Eggs 1 doz... 1.19
Kraft Shredded Parm Cheese... 5.59
Cucumbers (2 @ 99cents each)... 1.98
Tomatoes... 1.41 lbs @ 2.49/lb... 3.51
Tomato Paste 1 can... 1.29
Crushed Tomatoes (4 cans for $5)... 5.00 - we'll only use 2 for this, but buy on sale cause i use them all the time
[Spaghetti was already in my pantry...]
...............................total for meal: 27.35
...............................this will make at least 6 portions and you'll have ingredients left over
Asian Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Zucchini and Brown Rice
2 Tenderloins... 10.46
Zucchini [1.46 lbs @ 1.49/lb]... 2.18
Asian spices & Brown Rice I had in my pantry so here's what I'll use that most people have (or should have) in their pantry
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
Mustard (I use Chinese Mustard)
Siracha Sauce (it's basically chinese hot sauce)
Garlic
Ginger
then a cup of Brown Rice
...............................total for meal:12.64
...............................this will make at least 8 portions - one loin for dinner, one for lunch the next day
Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Green Salad
Chicken Breasts (I buy in bulk so I can freeze some and keep them)
^ this is a huge pack of about 10-12 breasts.... 7.76 (love them sales!)
Packaged Greens... 2.50
I have rolls, condiments, and salad dressing already plus bought tomatoes & cucs for the salad already
...............................total for meal: 10.26
...............................I'll only make two breasts for two sandwiches tonight
Asparagus Risotto
Asparagus... 1.97 lbs @ 3.49/lb .... 6.88
^ I bought more than I really need because I wanted more to use as a veg for other meals
Arborio Rice... 18.00 ish - I bought this before now but this risotto rice is expensivo...
Chicken Stock and spices etc are all in my pantry already
...............................total for meal:24.88
...............................I'll make about 4 portions of this
Swordfish Steaks with Red Pepper Sauce & Broccoli Mashed Potatoes
Ok, so I planned to do broccoli mashed, but no broccoli today so we'll see if I can get more later this week or I'll change my plan. So this isn't a complete list yet, sorry. I'll get it to you as soon as I find the rest of the ingredients!
Alright, time to relax before it's time to make dinner. Maybe even take a nap. Summers are great when you can rest for a bit :)
Happy shopping & I'll be back later to share my secret sauce & meatball recipes :)
Alright Meg, here you go:
This week I'm trying to recover from our crazy past weekend where we ate our way through two graduations. My brother & hubby's cousin both graduated from high school and we had a great weekend of celebrating and, as any good Italian family does, eating. It was crazy. So we're trying to eat healthier, portion-controlled, and with a variety of proteins. Eat them in whatever order you want, but my week is going to be:
Monday: Spaghetti & Meatballs with Garlic Bread & Cucumber/Tomato Salad
[or i might make baked macaroni in meat sauce... i can't decide]
Tuesday: Asian Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Zucchini and Brown Rice
Wednesday: Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Green Salad
Thursday: Asparagus Risotto with... something... cucumber/tomato salad or i dont know...
Friday: Swordfish steaks with a red pepper sauce with broccoli mashed potatoes
So... I went to our local P&C [which is in the process of changing over to a Tops]. I buy for 4 portions usually because we then use leftovers for lunches. Here's my shopping list with prices as best as I can split up by meal:
Spaghetti & Meatballs with Garlic Bread & Cucumber/Tomato Salad
Texas Toast... 2.19
Ground Pork (1 lb)... 2.91
Ground Beef (1 lb)... 3.69
Eggs 1 doz... 1.19
Kraft Shredded Parm Cheese... 5.59
Cucumbers (2 @ 99cents each)... 1.98
Tomatoes... 1.41 lbs @ 2.49/lb... 3.51
Tomato Paste 1 can... 1.29
Crushed Tomatoes (4 cans for $5)... 5.00 - we'll only use 2 for this, but buy on sale cause i use them all the time
[Spaghetti was already in my pantry...]
...............................total for meal: 27.35
...............................this will make at least 6 portions and you'll have ingredients left over
Asian Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Zucchini and Brown Rice
2 Tenderloins... 10.46
Zucchini [1.46 lbs @ 1.49/lb]... 2.18
Asian spices & Brown Rice I had in my pantry so here's what I'll use that most people have (or should have) in their pantry
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
Mustard (I use Chinese Mustard)
Siracha Sauce (it's basically chinese hot sauce)
Garlic
Ginger
then a cup of Brown Rice
...............................total for meal:12.64
...............................this will make at least 8 portions - one loin for dinner, one for lunch the next day
Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Green Salad
Chicken Breasts (I buy in bulk so I can freeze some and keep them)
^ this is a huge pack of about 10-12 breasts.... 7.76 (love them sales!)
Packaged Greens... 2.50
I have rolls, condiments, and salad dressing already plus bought tomatoes & cucs for the salad already
...............................total for meal: 10.26
...............................I'll only make two breasts for two sandwiches tonight
Asparagus Risotto
Asparagus... 1.97 lbs @ 3.49/lb .... 6.88
^ I bought more than I really need because I wanted more to use as a veg for other meals
Arborio Rice... 18.00 ish - I bought this before now but this risotto rice is expensivo...
Chicken Stock and spices etc are all in my pantry already
...............................total for meal:24.88
...............................I'll make about 4 portions of this
Swordfish Steaks with Red Pepper Sauce & Broccoli Mashed Potatoes
Ok, so I planned to do broccoli mashed, but no broccoli today so we'll see if I can get more later this week or I'll change my plan. So this isn't a complete list yet, sorry. I'll get it to you as soon as I find the rest of the ingredients!
Alright, time to relax before it's time to make dinner. Maybe even take a nap. Summers are great when you can rest for a bit :)
Happy shopping & I'll be back later to share my secret sauce & meatball recipes :)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Super Fail
Sorry... hubby & I moved into our new house, were without internet, got internets, and have made one meal this entire time. It's hard when everything is in boxes and all you want to do after working and unpacking is order pizza (chicken spiedies with bacon & ranch from nirchi's) and go to sleep. So sorry. but I promise - i'll blog about the two meals I cooked tomorrow.
You have chicken soup (homemade with homemade stock - so worth it) and a summer pasta to look forward to! Enjoy them, becuase I'll be making "Megan Meals" for the next month or so. I promised.
FYI - Megan is my bff and college roommate who just told me today that she misses my cooking. She also is not a cook (her words, not mine) and needs explicit instruction. So... if you're not for explicit instruction, sorry. If you are, though, this next month is for you!
I'll get some pictures of the new kichen up soon... cable comes for our kitchen tv on monday :) woot woot!
Bon Appetit! I pray you have a great pizza place near you like I have near me :)
You have chicken soup (homemade with homemade stock - so worth it) and a summer pasta to look forward to! Enjoy them, becuase I'll be making "Megan Meals" for the next month or so. I promised.
FYI - Megan is my bff and college roommate who just told me today that she misses my cooking. She also is not a cook (her words, not mine) and needs explicit instruction. So... if you're not for explicit instruction, sorry. If you are, though, this next month is for you!
I'll get some pictures of the new kichen up soon... cable comes for our kitchen tv on monday :) woot woot!
Bon Appetit! I pray you have a great pizza place near you like I have near me :)
Friday, April 16, 2010
oops - one day late
So this should be the blog for yesterday (tax day, 4/15/10) but I forgot. In recent new, we got keys to the new house today! and we move tomorrow! which means we had our celebratory chinese food and brut at the new house tonight sitting on the floor of the dining room (look for pictures later... it was fun). So fun :)
Anyways, I wanted to talk about what I did for dinner last night - it was fantastic! We're really at the end of our rope because we have just about nothing left in the house. I used the last few potatoes to make some mashed potatoes, but before they were completely finished, I put a head of broccoli (chopped up of course) in the water with them. As potatoes were cooking, I defrosted some salmon (remember, fresh fish, it's a good idea sometimes). And seared that skin-side down in a pan with some olive oil. Then, once you started to see the fish turn a light pink on the sides, flip it. Once the potatoes were soft and the broccoli was that beautiful really green color, drain the water and mash everything together. I mixed some chicken broth (cause I had it) and some blue cheese together. I recommend the chicken broth, I DO NOT recommend the blue cheese - it's too powerful. Maybe some cheddar would be better. Anyways, mashed broccoli and potatoes are great because it's green and a vegg & starch in one. So cool. Plus, kids would probably love it. I don't have kids, but me and hubby are like kids so I bet it's great :)
So, when I flipped the salmon, I put about 3 tbsp of butter in a small saute pan on medium to low heat. I added a bit of sage into that and let it melt and turn a little brown. A brown butter sauce :) It's great on the salmon and broccoli/potato mash. Once it's melted and is a bit brown, add a splash (or two if you like the acid) of lemon juice. It'll sizzle a bit, but it tastes SO good on the salmon.
I plated the broccoli/potato mash first, then salmon on top of that, then the brown sage butter with lemon juice on top of everything. It was delicious. You should cook salmon about 4-5 minutes on a side so it's not overcooked. The hard part with frozen fish is that you take it from frozen to defrosted to cooked in a matter of usually 24 hours or less so overcooking is a little inevitable. But usually it'll be a little over done, but it's always edible and you'll be fine, I promise. Unless you live near a body of water where you can eat fresh fish, then you better cook it nicely because you get fresh fish.
So, I'm heading to bed early because I have to move my entire apartment into our new house tomorrow :) Hurray for new houses! I don't know if Sally (our cat) will enjoy it, but we're so ready :) I'll post pictures as soon as we have them! Bon appetit! Or, as some fish-eating countries say, like in Finland, "Hyvää ruokahalua!"
Anyways, I wanted to talk about what I did for dinner last night - it was fantastic! We're really at the end of our rope because we have just about nothing left in the house. I used the last few potatoes to make some mashed potatoes, but before they were completely finished, I put a head of broccoli (chopped up of course) in the water with them. As potatoes were cooking, I defrosted some salmon (remember, fresh fish, it's a good idea sometimes). And seared that skin-side down in a pan with some olive oil. Then, once you started to see the fish turn a light pink on the sides, flip it. Once the potatoes were soft and the broccoli was that beautiful really green color, drain the water and mash everything together. I mixed some chicken broth (cause I had it) and some blue cheese together. I recommend the chicken broth, I DO NOT recommend the blue cheese - it's too powerful. Maybe some cheddar would be better. Anyways, mashed broccoli and potatoes are great because it's green and a vegg & starch in one. So cool. Plus, kids would probably love it. I don't have kids, but me and hubby are like kids so I bet it's great :)
So, when I flipped the salmon, I put about 3 tbsp of butter in a small saute pan on medium to low heat. I added a bit of sage into that and let it melt and turn a little brown. A brown butter sauce :) It's great on the salmon and broccoli/potato mash. Once it's melted and is a bit brown, add a splash (or two if you like the acid) of lemon juice. It'll sizzle a bit, but it tastes SO good on the salmon.
I plated the broccoli/potato mash first, then salmon on top of that, then the brown sage butter with lemon juice on top of everything. It was delicious. You should cook salmon about 4-5 minutes on a side so it's not overcooked. The hard part with frozen fish is that you take it from frozen to defrosted to cooked in a matter of usually 24 hours or less so overcooking is a little inevitable. But usually it'll be a little over done, but it's always edible and you'll be fine, I promise. Unless you live near a body of water where you can eat fresh fish, then you better cook it nicely because you get fresh fish.
So, I'm heading to bed early because I have to move my entire apartment into our new house tomorrow :) Hurray for new houses! I don't know if Sally (our cat) will enjoy it, but we're so ready :) I'll post pictures as soon as we have them! Bon appetit! Or, as some fish-eating countries say, like in Finland, "Hyvää ruokahalua!"
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
fail, minus f, i, & l = save.
So I thought I was all prepared etc when I took pork chops out of the freezer yesterday and put them in the fridge for dinner tonight. I was so excited, I was even going to marinate them in peanut ginger dressing that we got sometime... probably for our wedding. So when I got home from school today, around 5, I took out the pork, opened it up, smelled it, and gross. Had to throw it away. damn. All of that nice preparation in the trash. literally.
So anyways, I am an expert at turning fails into saves :) I found way back in the freezer some jalepeno & cheddar sausages that I thawed in the microwave. I made those (a total time saver, btw, love those prepackaged gourmet sausages) plus skillet taters (recipe from Hubby) and I roasted asparagus with lemon juice. So sausages and potatoes are easy, plus I talked about potatoes already so let's talk about asparagus.
So asparagus is one of my fave veggies, I just love it and you can make in so many ways. So today I roasted it in our toaster oven (the greatest invention ever) in 10 minutes. I didn't have to preheat an oven or wait forever for it to warm up and then again to roast my lovely asparagus. It's amazing.
Anyways, I did the snap thing with the asparagus, cut off the ends, then left them whole as I put some olive oil, salt, and pepper on them. Then, right before I put it in the toaster oven, I put some lemon juice on them. So delicious. I put them in at 400 degrees for a little less than 10 minutes. They were crisp, roasted, with the slightest taste of lemon and absolutely delicious.
So, I turned an epic fail into a pretty good save. And, since I packed the dishes and silverware already, we ate it on paper plates with red forks. And the stuff didn't leak through the paper plates. phew. And to make things even better[!!], the meal was ready and being dished onto plates as Hubby walked in the door from work. I am an AWESOME housewife.
As we say in the US, Happy Eating. As they say in German which this sausage is supposed to be from, Guten Appetit!
So anyways, I am an expert at turning fails into saves :) I found way back in the freezer some jalepeno & cheddar sausages that I thawed in the microwave. I made those (a total time saver, btw, love those prepackaged gourmet sausages) plus skillet taters (recipe from Hubby) and I roasted asparagus with lemon juice. So sausages and potatoes are easy, plus I talked about potatoes already so let's talk about asparagus.
So asparagus is one of my fave veggies, I just love it and you can make in so many ways. So today I roasted it in our toaster oven (the greatest invention ever) in 10 minutes. I didn't have to preheat an oven or wait forever for it to warm up and then again to roast my lovely asparagus. It's amazing.
Anyways, I did the snap thing with the asparagus, cut off the ends, then left them whole as I put some olive oil, salt, and pepper on them. Then, right before I put it in the toaster oven, I put some lemon juice on them. So delicious. I put them in at 400 degrees for a little less than 10 minutes. They were crisp, roasted, with the slightest taste of lemon and absolutely delicious.
So, I turned an epic fail into a pretty good save. And, since I packed the dishes and silverware already, we ate it on paper plates with red forks. And the stuff didn't leak through the paper plates. phew. And to make things even better[!!], the meal was ready and being dished onto plates as Hubby walked in the door from work. I am an AWESOME housewife.
As we say in the US, Happy Eating. As they say in German which this sausage is supposed to be from, Guten Appetit!
Monday, April 12, 2010
lazy butt
Yes, I'm being a lazy butt tonight. Well, I guess lazy butt is only half true. I'm doing a bit of packing for this massive move that we still don't know when it will occur. That and I went back to school today for the first time in over a week. Oy, it was a long day. But thank goodness for coffee this morning that Hubby made the night before. I love coffee pots that can be programmed. This is incredibly wonderful at 6:00 am. The smell of coffee this morning had me snoozing the alarm only 3 times instead of 5+! Hubby's thankful for this too.
Anyways, we're ordering chinese tonight. Our faves? General Tso's chicken, pork fried rice, and egg rolls with bunches of soy sauce (hubby) and siracha (both of us). This place near us makes the best egg rolls - I must not have had cabbage enough as a child because I LOVE cabbage now. Plus, chinese food and wine is kind of our thing. It's how we celebrate almost every important anniversary in our lives - especially when we were in college. In fact, Hubby told me that he was going to propose to me on Valentine's Day in 2008 after we had chinese food & wine. Except he couldn't get a hold of my dad to ask him so he didn't propose - we just had a valentine's day full of chinese food & wine. But his proposal was better the way it happened anyways. :)
So it may seem like I have nothing to blog, however.... we made the greatest dessert yesterday too and I forgot to blog about it. As I was packing up the guest room & kitchen yesterday I found some chocolate chip cookie mix that we hadn't used yet. Plus, we had 4 eggs left and 6 sticks of butter in the fridge/freezer. So I asked Hubby to make cookies. Except we didn't have any bowls left out or cookie sheets. Dilemna? Heck no! Our kitchen aid mixer was still out so he used it even though we haven't made cookies in it since Christmas time. It was pretty sweet. And then, what to do when your cookie sheets are packed? Make use of all those wedding gifts and use your mini-muffin tin!
We made miniature chocolate chip cookie cake muffin things! It was pretty sweet... you have to bake them for longer by about 3-5 minutes, so the tops are browned nicely, but they get a nice crustish thing on the outside right away and are mushy and delicious on the inside when they're still warm. It's pretty sweet. And they were pretty delicious! Good job, Hubby.
Oh, I also forgot to take out something from the freezer last night for tonight. Oh well.. chinese will be good and well-deserved, I think! I did take out some pork chops for tomorrow though... I wonder what I'll whip up for dinner... we're running low on stuff in the pantry! Bon Appetit! or... as they say in Mandarin, "請慢用" [please eat slowly]
Anyways, we're ordering chinese tonight. Our faves? General Tso's chicken, pork fried rice, and egg rolls with bunches of soy sauce (hubby) and siracha (both of us). This place near us makes the best egg rolls - I must not have had cabbage enough as a child because I LOVE cabbage now. Plus, chinese food and wine is kind of our thing. It's how we celebrate almost every important anniversary in our lives - especially when we were in college. In fact, Hubby told me that he was going to propose to me on Valentine's Day in 2008 after we had chinese food & wine. Except he couldn't get a hold of my dad to ask him so he didn't propose - we just had a valentine's day full of chinese food & wine. But his proposal was better the way it happened anyways. :)
So it may seem like I have nothing to blog, however.... we made the greatest dessert yesterday too and I forgot to blog about it. As I was packing up the guest room & kitchen yesterday I found some chocolate chip cookie mix that we hadn't used yet. Plus, we had 4 eggs left and 6 sticks of butter in the fridge/freezer. So I asked Hubby to make cookies. Except we didn't have any bowls left out or cookie sheets. Dilemna? Heck no! Our kitchen aid mixer was still out so he used it even though we haven't made cookies in it since Christmas time. It was pretty sweet. And then, what to do when your cookie sheets are packed? Make use of all those wedding gifts and use your mini-muffin tin!
We made miniature chocolate chip cookie cake muffin things! It was pretty sweet... you have to bake them for longer by about 3-5 minutes, so the tops are browned nicely, but they get a nice crustish thing on the outside right away and are mushy and delicious on the inside when they're still warm. It's pretty sweet. And they were pretty delicious! Good job, Hubby.
Oh, I also forgot to take out something from the freezer last night for tonight. Oh well.. chinese will be good and well-deserved, I think! I did take out some pork chops for tomorrow though... I wonder what I'll whip up for dinner... we're running low on stuff in the pantry! Bon Appetit! or... as they say in Mandarin, "請慢用" [please eat slowly]
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Commence Moving Week
So, hubby and i are moving sometime this week. As in... as soon as we get a closing date. Hopefully by Thursday at the latest [cross your fingers for us!]. Well anyways, we have a whole apartment [and a half, it feels like] worth of stuff that we need to pack, so we started early. Well, *I* started early. I was on break this week so I started packing - 59 boxes of stuff - pretty good. Then today, hubby & I continued to pack including most of the guest room and the kitchen. Which means... it's paper plates, green solo cups, and red plastic forks. Plus, limited cooking utensils, pots, pans, and prep bowls, and zero shopping trips this week. We need to use up our fridged/frozen goods.
So, with my limited kitchen, I have to figure out what to make for dinner. I started thinking about it this morning, which is WAY earlier than I usually do, but we decided to do some frozen fish - Halibut, tonight. We buy frozen fish instead of fresh fish because we live in the middle of NYS and are not near any major fishing ports. Therefore, frozen fish is actually fresher for us. Don't feel bad about buying frozen fish - it's pretty good plus, it's pre-portioned so you know exactly how much you're eating and can compare it to exactly what you should be eating.
Anyways, Halibut for dinner, I also have some cranberries in the freezer and sliced almonds so I think I'll throw them in together for some tangy & tart with our halibut steaks. I also have a load of brown rice and some red & green bell peppers so I'm going to make a rice & pepper mixture. I like to reference epicurious for ideas when I cook because some days I'm just not as confident as I should be. So I got some good help from them with this meal too.
Ok, so started with my rice cause it'll take the longest to cook. Chopped some onions, and 1 1/2 medium bell peppers. Chopped the peppers first then melted half a stick of butter in a sauce pan while I chopped the onion. Put that in and letting it saute. Problem one of moving week: only one cutting board left out. oops. Problem two: packed the spray oil for greasing pans. dang. Problem three: packed all measuring cups. Whoops. Good thing I don't measure a lot anyways.
Ok, so Hubby is making lunches while I make dinner. Score. Now, oiled a baking pan for the halibut. Am going to dredge it in cornmeal, salt, & pepper before it goes into a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes - a little longer if you're doing more than 2 filets or if they're pretty thick. Mine are from the "Full Circle" brand and each filet is about an inch thick and weighs 6 oz. So, my rice mixture just came to a simmer so I'll let it go for about 8 minutes before I put my halibut in, this way everything finishes at the same time. In the meantime, crack open a bottle of wine and decide where you're going to eat dinner! [Hubby & I don't always eat at our kitchen table, and today, def can't because of all the boxes]
Ok, we're drinking Chateau St. Michelle, a vintage 2005 Syrah and eating in the living room because we DVR-ed Bones from Thurs evening. Great trick for wine drinking... wrap a paper towel around the neck of the bottle - it catches drips when pouring. We learned it from our new fave restaurant, although they use a cloth napkin... this works just as well.
Side Note: Greatest purchase ever: Dishwasher. I'm not lying when I say I think it is the appliance that has helped our marriage. A close second: The Coffee Maker. But really? we bought a "portable" one - so it's on wheels and hooks up to the sink - but it's amazing. Totally worth the $500 we spent on it. I highly recommend one if you have ya know, 2x2 ft on the floor and it's like, 3 ft high. So worth it.
Ok, so just put the halibut in the oven. Now to make a sauce. Why? Because Bobby Flay always makes sauces and I heart him. So melting butter in a sauce pan, gonna add some cranberries and chicken stock, cause that's what I have in my kitchen. I added about 3/4 cup of cranberries and I eyeballed 1/4 cup of stock. Once it boils, I'll reduce heat and let the cranberries soften. I'm also toasting some sliced almonds in our toaster oven [another FANTASTIC appliance that you should have]. Actually, Hubby is toasting almonds...
Ok, once my sauce is ready, I'm going to add some parsley, lemon juice, and the almonds. Hopefully this will turn out well. When my rice mixture is done, I'm going to add some blue cheese too. Halibut is looking good in the oven... should be about another 2-5 minutes. I just flipped it. I'm not sure if I was supposed to, but I thought it needed it. Whoa! Cranberries are poppin'... that's good, it means they're softening a bit. But it's a little scary...
Ok, it's time for the final push, rice is about 2 minutes out, sauce is almost ready for the almonds, lemon juice, parsley, and halibut's about ready to come out in 2 minutes. So... I'll update later tonight and let you know how it turns out... until then, though, bon appetit!
Oh! And check out my sister's blog: http://ramenreplacementtherapy.blogspot.com/
She made cornish hen tonight!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
of course I'm sick...
I was so excited to get this started!! I told my husband about it at dinner last night and he was supportive too! We also had to figure out what would happen if he felt like cooking one night. Is it cheating? No... because usually when he cooks I play sous chef so no worries - I'll still be cooking!
Except for tonight... I woke up this morning feeling so ill. Turns out my months of zero-sickness is over... I felt like crap all morning, then this afternoon I thought I was better but then I needed to take a nap and slept for 3 HOURS. Ridiculous. Good thing hubby is nice enough to make some dinner for himself (and me if I still feel up to it). Also, good thing we haven't moved yet or I'd be s.o.l. on post two! *sigh*, such is life.
Anyways, hubby is making kielbasa, skillet potatoes, and a salad for dinner tonight. Hubby makes the best kielbasa so I'm totally ok with this arrangement... I'll have to ask him what he used to make it when he's done cooking. He zones when he cooks sometimes. :)
---------------------------------
ok, done eating - it was delicious! Hubby started with potatoes in a skillet with some olive oil and salt & pepper browning them first, then turning heat down and lid on to steam 'em. Then he steamed the kielbasa in beer. Saranac's Irish Red Ale, about half a bottle. He then drinks the rest because it's a waste of beer (obviously). Once kielbasa is cooked, he makes a really good beer mustard sauce. Except today, not as much mustard because we're clearing out the fridge and I didn't buy more. Oops. The sauce is the left over beer, about a tbsp brown sugar, and 2 or 3 tbsp of dijon mustard. Whisked together, reduced down, deliciousness with kielbasa. Then, with the potatoes, once they were pretty much done, he took the lid off, turned the heat up and put some of this grilling cajun rub that we have on them and got a good crust going. It was really good - I highly recommend it.
And, the best part of this dinner? We had everything here from previous shopping trips! (except the salad.. hubby bought that today). Some time ago I had bought kielbasa and it was buy one get one, so I got another and froze it for use today! I also like to have potatoes on hand because a bag of potatoes is cheap and TOTALLY worth it because you can cook potatoes in a million different ways. The only thing bought was a bag o' salad. Which, although you pay for the packaging, is excellent. It's such an easy way to get a veg in when you don't have much time.
Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow and I can make a sunday dinner from whatever's left in my fridge/pantry. We're getting down to the wire - not much left here for us to eat! Happy eating!
Friday, April 9, 2010
jealous [new] blogger
So I was feeling left out of the blogging phenomenon. My sister has a blog, my husband has a blog and all I could do was comment. Boo. So, this week (my spring break) I spent my days packing to move and trying to think of what I could blog about because I was jealous.
Lots of things inspire me... I'm a music teacher so I love to think about teaching and music, but so many people know more than I do and I didn't think I could blog efficiently nor effectively about those subjects. I like to decorate and paint and do crafty things, but I mos def could not write a blog about that. I've read those blogs - I am NOT that creative. Then I thought about food. I love food. I love cooking. I could write a blog about cooking! Like Julie & Julia! Except not... there's no way I could write a blog about how I'm cooking through a famous cookbook! I don't even cook every night for dinner! Then, *lightbulb*, I bet having a blog would make me stick to a goal like cooking dinner every night for, oh, say, a year. Hence, "So... what's for dinner?"
My goal [and this will be my contract] is to cook dinner every night for one whole year. I'm going to start when hubby & I move into our new house, hopefully next week but definitely by next weekend. That way, my first quarter will be the summer months, which I can TOTALLY do. It's the next three quarters that scare me a little, especially since I'll be teaching full-time plus doing my Master's online full-time, plus musical season. ick. But, it's a great way to get me shopping smart, cooking healthily, and sticking with it. I think I can do it. However, I also thought about extreme emergencies and I think I'm going to allow myself one night a month where I don't have to cook anything and hubby & I can go out to dinner. I think that will be fair.
So, if you're interested in food, cooking, and crazy haphazard, "what're we doing for dinner?" conversations, perhaps this will be an interesting read. Or, maybe you're part of my family/friends and are just reading to be nice ;) But it'll be a good ride...
Off to dinner out with the hubby at The Cellar before we spend a weekend of packing. Bon Appetit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)