"Why are you chopping up a watermelon at 4 o'clock in the morning?", my dear husband asked. My reply, "I don't know what else to do at 4 o'clock in the morning."
You see, sometimes in life you have to view your circumstances and take advantage of opportunities that otherwise will not come around again. The watermelon on the counter at 4:00am was one of those "opportunities." Carpe Diem.
Last night I fell asleep tucking Jett in. (It's about 60/40 on any given night this will happen. "Curious George and the Baseball Game" is a really relaxing book.) I woke up around Midnight to have a brief conversation with my husband that included his intention to be ready for the day by 4:00am so that he could get to the farm to plant. This meant that I needed to get up and shower and prep for the day at 3:30am. (Why? Well that's a good question that involves a toddler who is a light sleeper, a noisy hair drier, and a fear that I'll be faced with a day of meetings and my hair sticking out in all directions, or worse, hair that's still wet.)
So, by 4:00am, I had a choice, a) go back to bed, and risk bed-head in all of its glory, or b) get up and start the day. Obviously I went with "option b". Now normally this would be my perfect time to do homework, but I submitted my last final for the semester on Sunday night. The list of things I could do at this time of the morning is quite long (and apparently includes blogging) but the watermelon was there starring me in the face, as I came to the realization that now would actually be the only time I could cut up the watermelon. What an "opportunity"...
So there I was standing in the kitchen holding a large knife, hacking up a watermelon in the wee hours of the morning. I contemplated life, Costco, and why I bought a watermelon in the first place.
I couldn't help but think back to my high school musical "Guys and Dolls", standing on stage more than a decade ago in character as Miss Sarah Brown, watching Sky Masterson sing "My Time of Day", and thinking about what a romantic concept the early hours of the morning were.
Chopping up a watermelon at 4:00am was not exactly the picture I had envisioned...
Good morning friends! I hope you have a wonderful day, and if you have a hankering for watermelon, I have three tupperware in my fridge ready to share.
Showing posts with label Use it Up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Use it Up. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Accidental Crockpot Creation
I was inspired by Hy-Vee's $3 dinner idea for Beef and Vegetable Lo Mein when I logged on to activate my new fuel saver card. It was yum at first site and I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off...enter the crock pot. I knew I had a package of frozen steaks in the freezer that desperately wanted to be eaten, so in the morning I popped them (still frozen) into the crock pot with a garlic clove, half an onion, a little olive oil and a splash of soy sauce. I turned it on low and hoped for the best (and that our homeowner's policy was current.)
Over my lunch hour I stopped at Hy-Vee, which is literally my place "where everyone knows your name", waved hello to all the friendly employees that I have come to love, and ran into several friends who were also grocery shopping sans kiddos. I picked up some fabulous produce, including the organic broccoli and seasonal oranges pictured above, and only broke the rules for four cans of diced tomatoes. My total was $68.04.
When I came home from work about 5:30pm we still had a kitchen to speak of and the meat smelled incredible. I quickly washed and chopped up some broccoli, mushrooms, and scallions, heated a pan and coated it with olive oil. I threw in another garlic clove and sauteed the mushrooms and broccoli. I sliced the meat and put it in nearly last since it was already cooked. I added a little of the drippings from the crock pot to the pan for extra flavor, and squeezed half an orange for a little citrus note. Scallions went in just before I put everything on the plate. While all of this was going on in the pan, I quickly boiled some lo mein noodles (which believe it or not, I had in my cupboard!)
It was a truly fabulous Use-it-Up night! I still don't totally trust my crock pot, but I might be gaining just a little more confidence in it...
What I Used-Up:
Three frozen steaks
Lo Mein Noodles
1/2 onion
1 orange
1 head of broccoli
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Freezer-Friendly Mini-Meatloaves
Today I could not be more thankful that I took a little time this past weekend to make up a delicious freezer-friendly quick cooking meal. Like most people in the U.S. I'm either fighting "the flu" or more likely a virus thing that's wiping me out, but isn't bad enough for meds. Fun stuff.
So when it comes to my regular thought around 4pm, of "What am I going to make for dinner?" cooking does not sound like a lot of fun. But neither does fast food. So it is the perfect night for the meal I'm about to share with you.
Meatloaf balls are an idea that I stole from my Aunt Karina who served this at a Sunday lunch once. Mini-meatloaves are perfectly portioned, cook much faster than traditional meatloaf in a loaf pan, and make ahead beautifully for the freezer. They are also made for a Use-it-Up recipe!
Meatloaf Balls
Approximately 2 1/2 cups bread, broken up into small pieces
1/2 onion chopped
2/3 cup shredded carrots
2 eggs
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup mustard
1/4 cup spicy ground mustard or 1 tsp Worcesters sauce
2 lbs ground hamburger
Start by prepping all of your companion ingredients first. (This was a total revelation to me. Prepping everything else first and putting the meat in the bowl last makes for a much easier clean-up process, and reduces the risk of accidentally touching something after you've touched the meat.)
I like to leave my ingredients fairly chunky as you will see. Many recipes call for making breadcrumbs by putting bread in the food processor, but I like the texture and think the end result is more moist.
Knowing these would go into the freezer, I put mine directly on to some Glad Press-and-Seal wrap. I covered each ball with the sauce, and put another piece of wrap over top to seal them up. To prevent freezer burn, I put each package of six in a ziptop bag.
When I wanted to make these for tonight's meal, I took out just the number I needed. I put them into a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes, but this time would be reduced if you thawed them in the refrigerator prior. Check to make sure the meat is completely cooked before serving. Enjoy!
What I Used-Up:
The last of a loaf of bread
2 lbs beef
1/2 onion
The last of a bag of baby carrots
2 eggs
The last of a bag of sweet potato fries
So when it comes to my regular thought around 4pm, of "What am I going to make for dinner?" cooking does not sound like a lot of fun. But neither does fast food. So it is the perfect night for the meal I'm about to share with you.
Meatloaf balls are an idea that I stole from my Aunt Karina who served this at a Sunday lunch once. Mini-meatloaves are perfectly portioned, cook much faster than traditional meatloaf in a loaf pan, and make ahead beautifully for the freezer. They are also made for a Use-it-Up recipe!
Meatloaf Balls
Approximately 2 1/2 cups bread, broken up into small pieces
1/2 onion chopped
2/3 cup shredded carrots
2 eggs
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup mustard
1/4 cup spicy ground mustard or 1 tsp Worcesters sauce
2 lbs ground hamburger
Start by prepping all of your companion ingredients first. (This was a total revelation to me. Prepping everything else first and putting the meat in the bowl last makes for a much easier clean-up process, and reduces the risk of accidentally touching something after you've touched the meat.)
I like to leave my ingredients fairly chunky as you will see. Many recipes call for making breadcrumbs by putting bread in the food processor, but I like the texture and think the end result is more moist.
After the bread, chopped onion and carrots goes some salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp of each), two eggs, and a generous squirt of ketchup and mustard (approximately 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1/4 cup of mustard.) I didn't have any Worcester sauce, which I like to use, but I did have spicy ground mustard which works very nicely for a bit of kick.
In a separate bowl I mixed 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1/2 cup of mustard together to make a very traditional sauce for the top.
Two pounds of ground beef go in next, and then the fun begins... Mix together all the ingredients using your hands. I portion my balls by taking a generous fist full and packing it tightly together. I've found that this recipe yields exactly 12 mini-meatloaves. You can make them bigger if you prefer a little larger portion.
Knowing these would go into the freezer, I put mine directly on to some Glad Press-and-Seal wrap. I covered each ball with the sauce, and put another piece of wrap over top to seal them up. To prevent freezer burn, I put each package of six in a ziptop bag.
When I wanted to make these for tonight's meal, I took out just the number I needed. I put them into a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes, but this time would be reduced if you thawed them in the refrigerator prior. Check to make sure the meat is completely cooked before serving. Enjoy!
What I Used-Up:
The last of a loaf of bread
2 lbs beef
1/2 onion
The last of a bag of baby carrots
2 eggs
The last of a bag of sweet potato fries
Monday, January 14, 2013
Blue Cake for Breakfast
It's been just over a week since our trip to Costco, and we've consumed or used nearly 3/4 of the 5lbs of berries I bought. For a family of three (with one who doesn't eat any...ehem...Kevin), that's pretty remarkable! If you've been following the blog for awhile, you know that we love smoothies around here, and at least twice a week Jett and I share a big berry/spinach smoothie. We also love to eat berries for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. On Saturday morning I made one of my favorite blueberry muffin recipes which took care of nearly 1lb of blueberries. Jett calls it his "Blue Cake."
Double Blueberry Muffins (Courtesy of Gale Gand's cookbook "Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs")
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries*
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with liners.
Cream the butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer) until smooth. Add 1 cup of the sugar and mix. Add the eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt, and mix.
In a shallow bowl, mash 3/4 cup blueberries with the back of a fork. Add to the batter and mix. With the mixer at low speed, add half of the flour and milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Fold in the whole blueberries by hand until well mixed. In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon.
Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups three quarters full. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the muffins and bake until golden brown and risen, 25-30 minutes. Let cool, and enjoy!
*I love that there are more blueberries than flour in this recipe! I have also substituted raspberries for blueberries, and it turns out wonderfully.
Double Blueberry Muffins (Courtesy of Gale Gand's cookbook "Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs")
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries*
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with liners.
Cream the butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer) until smooth. Add 1 cup of the sugar and mix. Add the eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt, and mix.
In a shallow bowl, mash 3/4 cup blueberries with the back of a fork. Add to the batter and mix. With the mixer at low speed, add half of the flour and milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Fold in the whole blueberries by hand until well mixed. In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon.
Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups three quarters full. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the muffins and bake until golden brown and risen, 25-30 minutes. Let cool, and enjoy!
*I love that there are more blueberries than flour in this recipe! I have also substituted raspberries for blueberries, and it turns out wonderfully.
Friday, January 11, 2013
A Tale of Two Grocery Trips
We begin this story on a sunny Sunday afternoon, as we hopefully piled into the car after lunch to make our way to Costco and begin our experience as "members". We made a couple of stops on the way while Jett slept in the car. Then we pulled into the lot, and as if by fate scored a spot right by the door.
The plethora of food and other stuff was overwhelming, but we were up to the challenge. With Kevin pushing the cart and Jett on my hip, we picked out flats of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. At my sister's suggestion, we purchased some artisan lettuce to split with her, and Jett would not let me leave the produce cooler without a mammoth bag of mini peppers (the kid is CRAZY about them!)
On to paper goods next, we were out of everything and before long our cart was nearly full. It seemed that at every end cap we just missed the samples by a matter of seconds, probably a sign to me to stick to the Use-it-Up challenge. I faltered in the cereal aisle buying two jumbo boxes of Ancient Grains granola. And because of this I feel as though I should admit how addicted I am to this cereal. If it was the end of the world and I could only save three material goods I would take a flashlight (for practical purposes), my wedding ring, and Ancient Grains granola. This may have been the logic that did in the Mayans...
Jett got suckered in to buying squeeze packs of applesauce in bulk. I tried to stop him, but he couldn't resist how much cheaper these were at Costco than Walmart or Trader Joes. Kevin bee-lined for Nabisco snack packs and graham crackers, and I caved.
We finished the adventure with a trip to the concession counter for the world's largest yogurt parfait and called the $90.14 spent on groceries a success.
Our next tale began just hours ago, as a happy kid and I piled into the car on a foggy dreary morning to run some errands on my day off. He was good as gold at the dry-cleaners and sweet as can be at the recycling, but Hy-Vee was a whole other story.
We pulled in and he immediately remembered the car shaped carts that weigh 500 pounds and hold half the groceries of a normal cart. They are my favorite too. He shouted "blue, blue, blue one" all the way to the door. As we entered, on a whim his choice turned to the orange car that was parked near the front and after a thorough clean up with Clorox Wipes, we hit the road. He drove happily through nearly half of the produce department until he remembered that he actually wanted the blue one.
My delightful child had a terrible two sized meltdown while I received parenting advice from 100 much older, wiser patrons who thought blocking the aisle while telling me how to handle my yelling child would be a good idea. (It may have been just two, but that was enough for me.)
We made it out of Hy-Vee in record time with a $22.89 bill for milk, eggs, bananas, and orange juice.
May all your grocery trips be as eventful.
Over the weekend I'll be posting some freezer friendly ideas, and tell you what I do with a flat of blueberries.
The plethora of food and other stuff was overwhelming, but we were up to the challenge. With Kevin pushing the cart and Jett on my hip, we picked out flats of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. At my sister's suggestion, we purchased some artisan lettuce to split with her, and Jett would not let me leave the produce cooler without a mammoth bag of mini peppers (the kid is CRAZY about them!)
On to paper goods next, we were out of everything and before long our cart was nearly full. It seemed that at every end cap we just missed the samples by a matter of seconds, probably a sign to me to stick to the Use-it-Up challenge. I faltered in the cereal aisle buying two jumbo boxes of Ancient Grains granola. And because of this I feel as though I should admit how addicted I am to this cereal. If it was the end of the world and I could only save three material goods I would take a flashlight (for practical purposes), my wedding ring, and Ancient Grains granola. This may have been the logic that did in the Mayans...
Jett got suckered in to buying squeeze packs of applesauce in bulk. I tried to stop him, but he couldn't resist how much cheaper these were at Costco than Walmart or Trader Joes. Kevin bee-lined for Nabisco snack packs and graham crackers, and I caved.
We finished the adventure with a trip to the concession counter for the world's largest yogurt parfait and called the $90.14 spent on groceries a success.
Our next tale began just hours ago, as a happy kid and I piled into the car on a foggy dreary morning to run some errands on my day off. He was good as gold at the dry-cleaners and sweet as can be at the recycling, but Hy-Vee was a whole other story.
We pulled in and he immediately remembered the car shaped carts that weigh 500 pounds and hold half the groceries of a normal cart. They are my favorite too. He shouted "blue, blue, blue one" all the way to the door. As we entered, on a whim his choice turned to the orange car that was parked near the front and after a thorough clean up with Clorox Wipes, we hit the road. He drove happily through nearly half of the produce department until he remembered that he actually wanted the blue one.
My delightful child had a terrible two sized meltdown while I received parenting advice from 100 much older, wiser patrons who thought blocking the aisle while telling me how to handle my yelling child would be a good idea. (It may have been just two, but that was enough for me.)
We made it out of Hy-Vee in record time with a $22.89 bill for milk, eggs, bananas, and orange juice.
May all your grocery trips be as eventful.
Over the weekend I'll be posting some freezer friendly ideas, and tell you what I do with a flat of blueberries.
Monday, January 7, 2013
A Weekend Filled with Use-it-Up Success!
Good morning world, it's Monday!
In this household that means a very tired mommy and daddy, because little dude did not sleep well. On the bright side, it's a new week, the house is fairly clean, our fridge is stocked with great food for the week, and there is caffeine brewing in the Keurig.
On Saturday I went a little crazy with the Use-it-Up theme. To start off, I absolutely had to use-up six bananas that had gone black. My kiddo likes his bananas (and hence the name of the blog) so each week I always buy a few. On one particular trip, the grocery store got smart and placed a banana stand in the middle of the aisle where he could reach them at his height. He proceeded to grab a big bunch and accidentally dropped them on the floor. I didn't think it would be right to put them back, so into the cart and that's where we got our extra bunch of bananas.
One of the classic things to do with aging bananas is to make banana bread. Of all the recipes I have made, this is an area where I feel the most fearless. I love to try a new recipe, and if it doesn't quite turn out, I don't feel bad because it was practically free. On Saturday I set Jett to the banana mashing, which was a whole lot of fun!
He did a great job, and I picked out two new "low-fat" banana bread recipes. Low-fat because I was out of butter but did have oil and applesauce. One did not turn out great, and had a strange consistency, even after I tried to save it with Nutella. The other was great and will be one I go to again and again. I really enjoyed Joy the Baker's Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread. I did not have old fashioned rolled oats, but the quick oats I had seemed to work just fine. The bread had a great nearly oatmeal cookie consistency, but with a light delicious fruity flavor.
After the bread was out of the oven, I took a tip from the Queen of Quick Cooking - Rachael Ray, and made a five-minute soup. I had all that great leftover chicken from the first day of Use-it-Up, which made for great fajitas one night, but I still had some left.
The steps to five-minute soup are simple.
Chop some carrots and celery, or whatever vegetables you need to eat up. Next, heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in your soup pot. Throw in garlic, chopped onion, thyme, rosemary or whatever flavorings you like and stir. (I didn't measure, but just put in a modest amount that looked good.) Toss in your veggies, turn down heat slightly and allow to cook until softened. (At this point I also went to my freezer and grabbed a bag of half-eaten asparagus stir fry mix and threw that in too.) Pour in a can or about 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, and simmer. While the veggies are cooking, do a quick rough chop on your chicken leftovers, and into the pot they go. At this point you can allow to simmer until the chicken is warmed up, or for a bit longer to allow the flavors to develop. Jett and I had a beautiful, veggie packed soup for our lunch that was prepped in 5 minutes and ready in 30 minutes.
For dinner I went one more step toward Use-it-Up obsessed and mixed up some bread dough in my bread machine, and used up leftover spaghetti sauce, pepperoni, and cheese to make a quick homemade pizza. Jett yelled "Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!" when I took it out of the oven, so I think that was a hit too!
I hope this post gave you some ideas for how to Use-it-Up this week. On the next post I will share how my first Costco shopping trip went.
In this household that means a very tired mommy and daddy, because little dude did not sleep well. On the bright side, it's a new week, the house is fairly clean, our fridge is stocked with great food for the week, and there is caffeine brewing in the Keurig.
On Saturday I went a little crazy with the Use-it-Up theme. To start off, I absolutely had to use-up six bananas that had gone black. My kiddo likes his bananas (and hence the name of the blog) so each week I always buy a few. On one particular trip, the grocery store got smart and placed a banana stand in the middle of the aisle where he could reach them at his height. He proceeded to grab a big bunch and accidentally dropped them on the floor. I didn't think it would be right to put them back, so into the cart and that's where we got our extra bunch of bananas.
One of the classic things to do with aging bananas is to make banana bread. Of all the recipes I have made, this is an area where I feel the most fearless. I love to try a new recipe, and if it doesn't quite turn out, I don't feel bad because it was practically free. On Saturday I set Jett to the banana mashing, which was a whole lot of fun!
He did a great job, and I picked out two new "low-fat" banana bread recipes. Low-fat because I was out of butter but did have oil and applesauce. One did not turn out great, and had a strange consistency, even after I tried to save it with Nutella. The other was great and will be one I go to again and again. I really enjoyed Joy the Baker's Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread. I did not have old fashioned rolled oats, but the quick oats I had seemed to work just fine. The bread had a great nearly oatmeal cookie consistency, but with a light delicious fruity flavor.
After the bread was out of the oven, I took a tip from the Queen of Quick Cooking - Rachael Ray, and made a five-minute soup. I had all that great leftover chicken from the first day of Use-it-Up, which made for great fajitas one night, but I still had some left.
The steps to five-minute soup are simple.
Chop some carrots and celery, or whatever vegetables you need to eat up. Next, heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in your soup pot. Throw in garlic, chopped onion, thyme, rosemary or whatever flavorings you like and stir. (I didn't measure, but just put in a modest amount that looked good.) Toss in your veggies, turn down heat slightly and allow to cook until softened. (At this point I also went to my freezer and grabbed a bag of half-eaten asparagus stir fry mix and threw that in too.) Pour in a can or about 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, and simmer. While the veggies are cooking, do a quick rough chop on your chicken leftovers, and into the pot they go. At this point you can allow to simmer until the chicken is warmed up, or for a bit longer to allow the flavors to develop. Jett and I had a beautiful, veggie packed soup for our lunch that was prepped in 5 minutes and ready in 30 minutes.
For dinner I went one more step toward Use-it-Up obsessed and mixed up some bread dough in my bread machine, and used up leftover spaghetti sauce, pepperoni, and cheese to make a quick homemade pizza. Jett yelled "Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!" when I took it out of the oven, so I think that was a hit too!
I hope this post gave you some ideas for how to Use-it-Up this week. On the next post I will share how my first Costco shopping trip went.
Friday, January 4, 2013
The BIG Overstuffed Kitchen Reveal
"The most expensive food in your kitchen is the food you are throwing away." - Melissa D'Arabian
That is exactly what Use-it-Up is really all about. We are so fortunate to live in a country of abundance, of overabundance at times, and as such it becomes too easy to throw food out without really thinking about its value. Not just its cost (which is important) but also on a slightly deeper level its value, what did it take to get those eggs from the chicken to your refrigerator. How about that avocado that's traveled pretty far to get to the Midwest in the middle of winter. Not to get too heavy here, but that kind of thinking starts to reshape how we think about the food we buy and the opportunity to use it, not loose it.
I stole an idea straight from the binding of Kathleen Flinn's "Kitchen Counter Cooking School" (which I'll tell you more about another day...I know, the suspense!) Kathleen did a personal exercise where she went through the contents of her refrigerator and stuck a post-it note on every perishable item with an estimated price. If she threw the item out without using it, she stuck the note to the inside of her cabinet as a physical reminder of the cost. I did this last night and have already racked up $2.25 that in hind site, I really wish would be going to a Starbucks latte and not into the trash. In just about 10 minutes, this little exercise totally helped me rethink what I was going to serve last night and for the rest of the week.
You might have noticed that in the last post, the "What I Used-Up" listing included a bag of pre-packaged Caesar salad. I rarely buy this, but it was on sale 2/$4 and I thought it was a good deal, which it is unless you toss it without eating it. Truthfully I had no plans to eat it until I had to put that $2 sticky note on it.
Now, off my soap box (or more appropriately - cereal box) and on to the BIG REVEAL. I think it might be worse than last year.
 |
| Cupboard |
 |
Round-a-bout |
 |
| Refrigerator |
 |
| Ugly Unorganized Freezer |
 |
| And last but not least, the Spill-Over |
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
What To Do With a Trunk Full of Chickens
How many chickens fit in the trunk of a Ford Pinto?
As my witty sister would ask; what is the volume of a chicken? For this I do not have the answer, but I don't suggest Googling it either. This is not a question I would typically ask myself on a Saturday morning, but a couple of months ago I pondered it as I met the "Chicken Man."
My Grandma and Grandpa have a neighbor who raises chickens on his farm, and for the past few years Grandma has negotiated a great price for farm fresh chickens. One morning she called to ask if I would be home on Saturday morning at 10:30am because the Chicken Man would be stopping by with a dozen for me and my mom.
I waited and waited, and around 11:05am a beat up Ford Pinto parked across the street from our house, and out slowly climbed a rugged countryman and his trusty hound dog. Now you need to understand that this rugged countryman was not like the Pioneer Woman's husband Marlboro Man, no definitely not. He was like one of the characters on Duck Dynasty. As he looked around wondering if this was the place, I immediately recognized him, this was Chicken Man.
Chicken Man greeted me with a kind smile and walked to the back of his car and popped open a truck full of chilly, very freshly processed chickens. I wish I could have taken a picture, as the sight of several dozen individually bagged bright pink, headless, featherless, farm fresh chickens in the back of a broken down sedan is something that really should be seen. The good thing is that I'm fairly certain all of our nosey neighbors did. He proceeded to tell me to go ahead and pick out the ones I wanted. A chef's dream, not particularly mine. I tried to quickly conjure up my limited knowledge of poultry selection from watching Top Chef and The Food Network, and carried chickens two at a time into our house as my husband burst out in laughter.
I carefully placed 11 chickens in the freezer and left one out to cook for dinner. What I soon realized is that farm fresh chickens still come with all the innards, which my Grandma had kindly spared me of dealing with in past years by removing them from my batch. Instantly I was brought back to the sink of my childhood home, sometime in my pre-teens, when my mom made me remove the innards and prepare the chicken for supper. I specifically remember being incredibly grossed-out while listening to her tell me that I would have to know how to do this some day. With this memory front of mind, and channeling my best Julia Child, I stood at my own kitchen sink, reached in and grabbed whatever was in there, all while doing my best Julia Child impersonation, much to my husband's chagrin. "You must not be afraid of the chicken! After all the creature is already dead!"
So tonight in honor of my experience with a trunk full of chickens, and the first "Use-it-Up" recipe of 2013, we are having a an Asian inspired marinated roast chicken on carrots and sweet potatoes.
First, to recap what Use-it-Up is all about.
Basics: Use-it-Up is super simple, I will dramatically cut back on my grocery buying habits and only purchase perishables like produce, eggs, meat, and dairy from the grocery store, while trying to "use-up" the other staples and odd-ball food lurking in my overstuffed cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer.
Benefits: Savings on the grocery budget, thoughtful home cooked meals, less waste, and cupboards ready for another Trader Joe's splurge in a few short months.
Full Disclosure: I will post our grocery spending over the next two months, and promise to let you know when I cheat on the rules.
2013 Inspiration: Kathleen Flinn's "Kitchen Counter Cooking School", two fabulous Christmas gifts: a membership to Top Chef University online cooking school, and a Costco membership.
Now on to dinner. Left over from a New Year's Eve veggie and fruit tray I had carrots and orange slices. This and a lonely sweet potato and a quarter of an onion became the base for which my bird got to sit.
The marinade included the following:
2 Tab vegetable oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1Tab rice wine vinegar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic
The ginger and garlic were from a jar, but I'm trying to use them up and buy fresh in the future.
I stuffed the ugly bird with the other quarter of an onion and orange slices. The next part is where my Julia Child impressions come in handy.
I slowly poured the marinade over the fowl and rubbed it under the skin for flavor. "You must give the bird a good rub down to make sure all the flavor gets in it, otherwise you might as well just order out!" (In my best high pitched, slightly drunken Julia voice.)
Into a hot 425 degree oven it went for 80 minutes, until the breast meat reached 180 degrees.
One lonely sweet potato
Half of an onion
Defrosted farm fresh chicken
Yukon Gold Potatoes for mashed potato side
Pre-packaged Caesar salad mix
In the next post you will get to experience the big cupboard, refrigerator and freezer reveal. Stay tuned!
As my witty sister would ask; what is the volume of a chicken? For this I do not have the answer, but I don't suggest Googling it either. This is not a question I would typically ask myself on a Saturday morning, but a couple of months ago I pondered it as I met the "Chicken Man."
My Grandma and Grandpa have a neighbor who raises chickens on his farm, and for the past few years Grandma has negotiated a great price for farm fresh chickens. One morning she called to ask if I would be home on Saturday morning at 10:30am because the Chicken Man would be stopping by with a dozen for me and my mom.
I waited and waited, and around 11:05am a beat up Ford Pinto parked across the street from our house, and out slowly climbed a rugged countryman and his trusty hound dog. Now you need to understand that this rugged countryman was not like the Pioneer Woman's husband Marlboro Man, no definitely not. He was like one of the characters on Duck Dynasty. As he looked around wondering if this was the place, I immediately recognized him, this was Chicken Man.
Chicken Man greeted me with a kind smile and walked to the back of his car and popped open a truck full of chilly, very freshly processed chickens. I wish I could have taken a picture, as the sight of several dozen individually bagged bright pink, headless, featherless, farm fresh chickens in the back of a broken down sedan is something that really should be seen. The good thing is that I'm fairly certain all of our nosey neighbors did. He proceeded to tell me to go ahead and pick out the ones I wanted. A chef's dream, not particularly mine. I tried to quickly conjure up my limited knowledge of poultry selection from watching Top Chef and The Food Network, and carried chickens two at a time into our house as my husband burst out in laughter.
I carefully placed 11 chickens in the freezer and left one out to cook for dinner. What I soon realized is that farm fresh chickens still come with all the innards, which my Grandma had kindly spared me of dealing with in past years by removing them from my batch. Instantly I was brought back to the sink of my childhood home, sometime in my pre-teens, when my mom made me remove the innards and prepare the chicken for supper. I specifically remember being incredibly grossed-out while listening to her tell me that I would have to know how to do this some day. With this memory front of mind, and channeling my best Julia Child, I stood at my own kitchen sink, reached in and grabbed whatever was in there, all while doing my best Julia Child impersonation, much to my husband's chagrin. "You must not be afraid of the chicken! After all the creature is already dead!"
So tonight in honor of my experience with a trunk full of chickens, and the first "Use-it-Up" recipe of 2013, we are having a an Asian inspired marinated roast chicken on carrots and sweet potatoes.
First, to recap what Use-it-Up is all about.
Basics: Use-it-Up is super simple, I will dramatically cut back on my grocery buying habits and only purchase perishables like produce, eggs, meat, and dairy from the grocery store, while trying to "use-up" the other staples and odd-ball food lurking in my overstuffed cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer.
Benefits: Savings on the grocery budget, thoughtful home cooked meals, less waste, and cupboards ready for another Trader Joe's splurge in a few short months.
Full Disclosure: I will post our grocery spending over the next two months, and promise to let you know when I cheat on the rules.
2013 Inspiration: Kathleen Flinn's "Kitchen Counter Cooking School", two fabulous Christmas gifts: a membership to Top Chef University online cooking school, and a Costco membership.
Now on to dinner. Left over from a New Year's Eve veggie and fruit tray I had carrots and orange slices. This and a lonely sweet potato and a quarter of an onion became the base for which my bird got to sit.
The marinade included the following:
2 Tab vegetable oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1Tab rice wine vinegar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic
The ginger and garlic were from a jar, but I'm trying to use them up and buy fresh in the future.
I stuffed the ugly bird with the other quarter of an onion and orange slices. The next part is where my Julia Child impressions come in handy.
I slowly poured the marinade over the fowl and rubbed it under the skin for flavor. "You must give the bird a good rub down to make sure all the flavor gets in it, otherwise you might as well just order out!" (In my best high pitched, slightly drunken Julia voice.)
Into a hot 425 degree oven it went for 80 minutes, until the breast meat reached 180 degrees.
Delicious!
What I Used-Up:
Left over baby carrotsOne lonely sweet potato
Half of an onion
Defrosted farm fresh chicken
Yukon Gold Potatoes for mashed potato side
Pre-packaged Caesar salad mix
In the next post you will get to experience the big cupboard, refrigerator and freezer reveal. Stay tuned!
Monday, August 27, 2012
A Fire Alarm, Sticky Floor, Pinterest Kind of Night
"The most expensive ingredient in your house is the one you are throwing away." - Melissa d'Arabian
Pinterest is for those random few minutes in between, and last week I had more of those than usual. I went a little crazy, pinning everything in sight. It can be a little more than just a little addicting you know. I took advantage of the in between time and pinned several new recipes that I actually wanted to try. A different approach than pinning recipes that just look good.
Today with a full week ahead of us I thought it would be a good time to try out a new crock pot recipe, and boy was it a good one. For those of you who have been following along since Use-it-Up February, this recipe is the perfect solution for using up some odd-ball ingredients.
This is my version of Spicy Crockpot Chicken.
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salsa - whatever amount you have available, up to about a jar
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dried onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3 mini bell peppers or one big bell pepper roughly chopped
1/2 cup water
This is the perfect recipe for me because there is no way to mess it up. I always have half eaten containers of salsa in my fridge and this is a great way to use-it-up. Put the chicken in the crock pot and the other ingredients right over top in the order listed. Set crock pot for 6 hours on high. Shred chicken about 30 minutes before serving and let it soak in all the juices. Serve on multi grain tortillas.
(On a side note, if you haven't tried Mission's new artisan brand, you are missing out. I love the flax and blue corn.)
Inspired by the success of the chicken, I decided to try another pinned recipe that "looked good," roasted chick peas. They were as bad as they sound and for some reason the fire alarm thought I had started the house on fire. I didn't notice any smoke, but that's what you get for putting in new batteries and roasting tiny beans in the oven on high heat.
After all of that, I was craving something sweet and thought it would be fun to make vanilla shakes. Sure, that sounds like a nice idea, except that I "forgot" that my blender doesn't work. Just because you haven't used your blender since 2008 doesn't mean it's still not working...maybe if you just gave it another try. It's only ice cream and milk, how bad could it go?
Darn subconscious. If a blender is broken in 2008 and no one fixes it, it still will not work. It made an awful sound, sputtered and splurted, and I ended up mushing together something that resembled a shake with my spoon. Somewhere between waving a dish towel around the hallway and talking myself into the blender situation, I momentarily lost my mind and handed the baby a cup full of shake and a spoon. He's pretty good at both, but the consistency was really bad. Pretty soon the shake was all over his face, hands, arm and legs. And all over the floor. Kevin laughed at me and suggested that maybe making a shake wasn't such a good idea.
Having it all doesn't mean having it all together. If the rest of the week goes this well, I think we'll be doing pretty good! :)
Pinterest is for those random few minutes in between, and last week I had more of those than usual. I went a little crazy, pinning everything in sight. It can be a little more than just a little addicting you know. I took advantage of the in between time and pinned several new recipes that I actually wanted to try. A different approach than pinning recipes that just look good.
Today with a full week ahead of us I thought it would be a good time to try out a new crock pot recipe, and boy was it a good one. For those of you who have been following along since Use-it-Up February, this recipe is the perfect solution for using up some odd-ball ingredients.
This is my version of Spicy Crockpot Chicken.
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salsa - whatever amount you have available, up to about a jar
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dried onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3 mini bell peppers or one big bell pepper roughly chopped
1/2 cup water
This is the perfect recipe for me because there is no way to mess it up. I always have half eaten containers of salsa in my fridge and this is a great way to use-it-up. Put the chicken in the crock pot and the other ingredients right over top in the order listed. Set crock pot for 6 hours on high. Shred chicken about 30 minutes before serving and let it soak in all the juices. Serve on multi grain tortillas.
(On a side note, if you haven't tried Mission's new artisan brand, you are missing out. I love the flax and blue corn.)
Inspired by the success of the chicken, I decided to try another pinned recipe that "looked good," roasted chick peas. They were as bad as they sound and for some reason the fire alarm thought I had started the house on fire. I didn't notice any smoke, but that's what you get for putting in new batteries and roasting tiny beans in the oven on high heat.
After all of that, I was craving something sweet and thought it would be fun to make vanilla shakes. Sure, that sounds like a nice idea, except that I "forgot" that my blender doesn't work. Just because you haven't used your blender since 2008 doesn't mean it's still not working...maybe if you just gave it another try. It's only ice cream and milk, how bad could it go?
Darn subconscious. If a blender is broken in 2008 and no one fixes it, it still will not work. It made an awful sound, sputtered and splurted, and I ended up mushing together something that resembled a shake with my spoon. Somewhere between waving a dish towel around the hallway and talking myself into the blender situation, I momentarily lost my mind and handed the baby a cup full of shake and a spoon. He's pretty good at both, but the consistency was really bad. Pretty soon the shake was all over his face, hands, arm and legs. And all over the floor. Kevin laughed at me and suggested that maybe making a shake wasn't such a good idea.
Having it all doesn't mean having it all together. If the rest of the week goes this well, I think we'll be doing pretty good! :)
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Sneaky Saturday Smoothie
How do you get an independent toddler to eat his veggies? I believe this is a question that every mother across the planet has asked at some point. Our sweet babies who were once interested in any food because it was new and exciting soon gain their own opinion. This extends beyond veggies to nearly everything under the sun. Should we play outside? No. Do you want to color? No. It's time for a bath. No. You need to eat your green beans. No, no, no.
In addition to "turning two" a good three months early, Jett has also been on a very picky food jag. It's nearly impossible to guess what he will eat, and he's just on the tipping point of being able to communicate what he wants. I felt myself starting to get upset over lunch yesterday when he refused to eat anything accept sweet potato chips, but instead of allowing myself to get frustrated, I got creative.
One thing Jett has always been very interested in are smoothies. When he sees the blender or food processor come out he gets very excited. Straws are also a really big novelty right now. So with that in mind I broke out the food processor and made a very sneaky smoothie that included a huge helping of fresh spinach, frozen raspberries and a banana. Here is the recipe (kind of, I didn't measure so within reason just eyeball it.)
1/2 cup ice
1 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cup fresh spinach
1 banana
3 oz low-fat vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)
Blend ice and orange juice until frothy. Add spinach and puree. Add banana and yogurt for a smooth texture and additional nutrition. (Jett wouldn't eat the banana I cut up for him so I just threw it in.) Finally blend in 3/4 cup raspberries. The more raspberries you add the better the color will be.
This sneaky smoothie was a huge hit, not only with kiddo but with mommy as well. I gave Jett a huge bowl full with a spoon at lunch, and he finished off the rest in a cup with a straw at snack. Spinach is incredibly nutritious, and I really like it, but many people don't because of its dark earthy, slightly bitter flavor. However, when added with citrus it brightens and in this smoothie was impossible to distinguish from the other great flavors.
I can't say that I blame Jett for not being in the mood for veggies. Sometimes I'm not really in the mood for veggies, but I think I'm on to something here...
Do you have a smoothie recipe that you love? Please post back and share!
In addition to "turning two" a good three months early, Jett has also been on a very picky food jag. It's nearly impossible to guess what he will eat, and he's just on the tipping point of being able to communicate what he wants. I felt myself starting to get upset over lunch yesterday when he refused to eat anything accept sweet potato chips, but instead of allowing myself to get frustrated, I got creative.
One thing Jett has always been very interested in are smoothies. When he sees the blender or food processor come out he gets very excited. Straws are also a really big novelty right now. So with that in mind I broke out the food processor and made a very sneaky smoothie that included a huge helping of fresh spinach, frozen raspberries and a banana. Here is the recipe (kind of, I didn't measure so within reason just eyeball it.)
1/2 cup ice
1 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cup fresh spinach
1 banana
3 oz low-fat vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)
Blend ice and orange juice until frothy. Add spinach and puree. Add banana and yogurt for a smooth texture and additional nutrition. (Jett wouldn't eat the banana I cut up for him so I just threw it in.) Finally blend in 3/4 cup raspberries. The more raspberries you add the better the color will be.
This sneaky smoothie was a huge hit, not only with kiddo but with mommy as well. I gave Jett a huge bowl full with a spoon at lunch, and he finished off the rest in a cup with a straw at snack. Spinach is incredibly nutritious, and I really like it, but many people don't because of its dark earthy, slightly bitter flavor. However, when added with citrus it brightens and in this smoothie was impossible to distinguish from the other great flavors.
I can't say that I blame Jett for not being in the mood for veggies. Sometimes I'm not really in the mood for veggies, but I think I'm on to something here...
Do you have a smoothie recipe that you love? Please post back and share!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Eating Granola and Thought of You!
My friend Jen sent me a text this week that said, "Eating granola...and thought of you!" What a high compliment in my book! You see lately I've been on this wild granola kick. One Saturday I was super hungry for granola and was out, so I decided to make my own. It was a moderately successful first run, with a minor honey-heating incident with the microwave (Do not, I repeat, do NOT heat honey in the bear in the microwave! Just remember that angry bears will explode, and that's all you need to know.) I also kept the oats in the oven too long, but masked the flavor by adding extra dark chocolate chips.
Then there was that fateful trip to Costco where they sell "The World's Best Granola" complete with flax, amaranth, quinoa and other good nutritious stuff. I've been loading up ever since. The only problem is that there are 250 calories per 3/4 cup. (Is it really fair to gain five pounds because of granola? I think not!)
While not a complete solution to the calorie challenge, I like the idea of making my own granola so that I can control the sugar content (and add extra good stuff like dried fruit, coconut or chocolate chips.) So I guess I'm making more dessert granola myself, but in place of a bag of chips in the afternoon it's still a good alternative. Here is a recipe to the batch I whipped up yesterday.
3 1/2 cups rolled oats (I always make a super big batch.)
1/4 cup flax
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and press granola in a thin layer. Bake in a 325 degree oven for approximately 25 minutes. You will need to take the granola out every 8-10 minutes to stir, flip, and toss so that all sides bake evenly and don't burn. When the granola is finished and cooled I like to put mine into zip-top bags in the freezer for future eating.
Then there was that fateful trip to Costco where they sell "The World's Best Granola" complete with flax, amaranth, quinoa and other good nutritious stuff. I've been loading up ever since. The only problem is that there are 250 calories per 3/4 cup. (Is it really fair to gain five pounds because of granola? I think not!)
While not a complete solution to the calorie challenge, I like the idea of making my own granola so that I can control the sugar content (and add extra good stuff like dried fruit, coconut or chocolate chips.) So I guess I'm making more dessert granola myself, but in place of a bag of chips in the afternoon it's still a good alternative. Here is a recipe to the batch I whipped up yesterday.
3 1/2 cups rolled oats (I always make a super big batch.)
1/4 cup flax
1 Tab. milled flax
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 Tab. honey
1 Tab. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine first six ingredients in a large bowl.
Next, heat oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla over low heat. When the honey and sugar are incorporated, you are good to go.
Pour syrup over the oat mixture and combine using a spoon or your hands (if you want to get messy.)
One of my favorite things about making my own granola is that it's the perfect "Use-it-Up" recipe. You can add whatever you have available as long as you stick with the basic oats+nuts/dried fruit/other goodies+syrup equation. Enjoy!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Rhubarb and Egg Hunts
Since before Jett could start eating, I have been on a mission to entice and expand his tastebuds to include all kinds of interesting and diverse flavors. I believe that it is important for children to try, try, and try again new foods so that they are able to eat a variety of colorful and wonderful foods. (And let's be honest, so that someday Jett will like many of the same foods that his mama does.)
Currently his growing list of favorites includes red pepper, garlic, mango, spinach, pears by the fist full, chicken Alfredo pizza, tandoori chicken, and add a new food to the list...drum roll please, this is a good one...rhubarb!
My parents just moved to a beautiful new house that has an abundance of rhubarb growing in the back yard. My mom sent home a bunch for me to use, and I've only gotten through half of that harvest. Jett helped me bake, and as I was chopping, he was begging for a taste. Knowing how bitter and sour raw rhubarb is I gave him just a little teenie tiny piece to try, and to my surprise he loved it. Even better than the raw fruit, he loved the dessert that I made from it, a recipe from none other than The Pioneer Woman. I can only begin to describe this rhubarb cobbler by saying that the recipe (like many from the Frontier) is not afraid of butter or sugar, but after all this is dessert. The rhubarb itself doesn't get much dressing up, just simple granulated sugar, which gives the fruit's zippy tanginess a chance to shine through. The cobbler part is like biting into a sweet fluffy biscuit and the two together yield almost a pudding like consistency. Amazing!
(By the way, did you know that rhubarb is actually a vegetable, but is largely considered a fruit in the U.S. You can wow your party guests with that one.)
I'm also excited to share some adorable pictures of Jett's first egg hunts! Last week we joined in the fun of my dad's company egg hunt, which was fantastic for a beginner. Lots of eggs, few kids in the 0-2 age category, and great weather.
Reagan with her egg!
Happy Easter everyone!
Currently his growing list of favorites includes red pepper, garlic, mango, spinach, pears by the fist full, chicken Alfredo pizza, tandoori chicken, and add a new food to the list...drum roll please, this is a good one...rhubarb!
My parents just moved to a beautiful new house that has an abundance of rhubarb growing in the back yard. My mom sent home a bunch for me to use, and I've only gotten through half of that harvest. Jett helped me bake, and as I was chopping, he was begging for a taste. Knowing how bitter and sour raw rhubarb is I gave him just a little teenie tiny piece to try, and to my surprise he loved it. Even better than the raw fruit, he loved the dessert that I made from it, a recipe from none other than The Pioneer Woman. I can only begin to describe this rhubarb cobbler by saying that the recipe (like many from the Frontier) is not afraid of butter or sugar, but after all this is dessert. The rhubarb itself doesn't get much dressing up, just simple granulated sugar, which gives the fruit's zippy tanginess a chance to shine through. The cobbler part is like biting into a sweet fluffy biscuit and the two together yield almost a pudding like consistency. Amazing!
(By the way, did you know that rhubarb is actually a vegetable, but is largely considered a fruit in the U.S. You can wow your party guests with that one.)
I'm also excited to share some adorable pictures of Jett's first egg hunts! Last week we joined in the fun of my dad's company egg hunt, which was fantastic for a beginner. Lots of eggs, few kids in the 0-2 age category, and great weather.
Today we were invited to join my best friend and her daughter in Tekamah for their annual community egg hunt. It was a huge event complete with a petting zoo, pony rides, and a train. The 0-3 category was the opposite of the week before. Nearly a hundred parents and kids lined up on both sides of a field and when the guy said "go", they went! Our inexperience shone through, yielding no eggs until a kind man revealed one that he had hidden under his foot, for the pathetic hunters. It was literally over in about 20 seconds. But not to worry, it was really the petting zoo that our kiddos were most excited about.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Crockpot Confession and a Great Use-It-Up Night
I have a confession for you. My crockpot scares me. Okay - it's not just my crockpot, and it's really not like "Ooh I'm so scared I'm going to sleep with the lights on!" That would be really weird. It's more like I'm intimidated by the idea of using a crockpot. I know the whole point is that you leave them plugged in all day, and tada when you get home supper is ready. But you know what, they get really, really hot. I'm not sure how I feel about leaving something that hot on my counter all day while I'm gone. And I feel like the idea of slow-cooking is unpredictable to me. When I put something in the oven at 350 I know how long it will take to cook depending on what it is that I'm baking. When I cook in the skillet, same thing. But the crockpot I have to trust...
All of that to say, that I used my crockpot today. I put my qualms about it aside, plugged it in and left for eight hours (you see it sounds really weird when you see it in print, very unnatural.) But the results, I will admit were very good. I had one final package of pork chops to use-up, so I put those in the pot with half of a chopped yellow onion, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and equal parts water to reduce the gravy a bit. Even though I loath having to use cream of something soup (see Use-It-Up Post 25) in this case it worked. The chops fell apart and had a really great dense meaty flavor, and they stayed very tender, which can be a tricky thing for pork chops to accomplish.
The whole meal was a great example of a Use-It-Up night. In the morning before I left for work I also made a batch of bread dough and put it in the refrigerator. I'm learning the tricks of baking as I go, and today was a really good lesson; while it may seem convenient to make a batch of dough ahead of time, you must give ample thawing and rising time if you intend to make bread. I did not, and tried to hurry it along with no luck. So when life hands you cold dough, make breadsticks. I buttered a 9x13 pan and pressed the dough along the side, as if I was making a pizza crust. I then drizzled a tablespoon of butter on top and sprinkled garlic and oregano. The breadsticks then went into a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. About half way through I used-up some Parmesan cheese and sprinkled that on top while they finished baking.
All of that to say, that I used my crockpot today. I put my qualms about it aside, plugged it in and left for eight hours (you see it sounds really weird when you see it in print, very unnatural.) But the results, I will admit were very good. I had one final package of pork chops to use-up, so I put those in the pot with half of a chopped yellow onion, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and equal parts water to reduce the gravy a bit. Even though I loath having to use cream of something soup (see Use-It-Up Post 25) in this case it worked. The chops fell apart and had a really great dense meaty flavor, and they stayed very tender, which can be a tricky thing for pork chops to accomplish.
The whole meal was a great example of a Use-It-Up night. In the morning before I left for work I also made a batch of bread dough and put it in the refrigerator. I'm learning the tricks of baking as I go, and today was a really good lesson; while it may seem convenient to make a batch of dough ahead of time, you must give ample thawing and rising time if you intend to make bread. I did not, and tried to hurry it along with no luck. So when life hands you cold dough, make breadsticks. I buttered a 9x13 pan and pressed the dough along the side, as if I was making a pizza crust. I then drizzled a tablespoon of butter on top and sprinkled garlic and oregano. The breadsticks then went into a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. About half way through I used-up some Parmesan cheese and sprinkled that on top while they finished baking.
The results. Yumm!
On the side we had coleslaw and snow peas. Dessert was an extra special treat because I also had apples to use-up. Apple crisp on a Monday does not usually happen in this house, but it must have been fate because it did. Here is the recipe:
Apple Crisp
6 peeled and sliced apples
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 stick of butter (or 8 tablespoons)
Coat apples in granulated sugar and put into a 9x13 pan. For topping, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Using a fork or knife cut cold butter into small chunks and combine with topping mixture until you have small granules of butter incorporated into mixture. Pour topping over apples and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tonight we had Indian Food. Don't tell my husband!
Tonight we had Indian inspired food. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT tell Kevin! He had no idea. You see I have this theory that if I just slowly introduce new food styles and flavors and pair them with old standbys like smashed potatoes and green beans, that over time my family's taste bud profile will expand.
I am a huge fan of Indian food and Indian inspired food, but I don't get to eat it enough. Living in a moderately small Midwest town, we can barely find authentic Chinese food (the best is at Hy-Vee) let alone Indian food. That's one challenge. The other is that very few people in my immediate circle like Indian food. I think I need to get some new friends! (Kidding of course. Well, mostly.)
I love you Hamburger-Plain-Ketchup-Only-Thank You, and I'm-Allergic-To-Peas, well you know you have my heart, but sometimes a girl has got to step out and have some flavor! So I'm slowly introducing it in hopes of an eventual menu revolution.
Tonight's new recipe was one that I had been dying to make since I saw it in Everyday Food Magazine, Tandoori-style chicken. This simple marinade was easy to make and the flavor profile was not overwhelming, just incredibly delicious. Slight sourness from the yogurt and lemon juice, with a nice kick from the spices, paired with a beautiful fragrant aroma from the ginger.
I picked up on a step from Aarti Sequeira that Indian food often calls for ginger and garlic, and that you can save a couple of steps by dicing the two ingredients in a food processor with some vegetable oil, and save the extra in an air tight container in the refrigerator for future recipes, up to about two weeks. If you have not caught Aarti's new show on the Food Network on Saturday mornings at 7:30 a.m., it is definitely worth setting your alarm for. She gracefully battles the misconception that Indian food is complicated to make with a lot of airy charm and quiet wit, and is very good at teaching helpful tricks that anyone can use.
In addition to my old standbys I also tried something new for me - braised kale. Kale has been hailed as one of the new super foods and has made headlines in most of the major health and fitness magazines and food publications over the last 12 months. It's high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium, and a host of other nutrients that I can't spell. I cooked it like I would wilted spinach and flavored it with a bit of lemon. I wouldn't say that it was on my top ten list for vegetables, but it wasn't too bad. I'm definitely going to try a couple of different methods of cooking it, so stay tuned.
What kind of food do you love, that no one else will eat with you?
I am a huge fan of Indian food and Indian inspired food, but I don't get to eat it enough. Living in a moderately small Midwest town, we can barely find authentic Chinese food (the best is at Hy-Vee) let alone Indian food. That's one challenge. The other is that very few people in my immediate circle like Indian food. I think I need to get some new friends! (Kidding of course. Well, mostly.)
I love you Hamburger-Plain-Ketchup-Only-Thank You, and I'm-Allergic-To-Peas, well you know you have my heart, but sometimes a girl has got to step out and have some flavor! So I'm slowly introducing it in hopes of an eventual menu revolution.
Tonight's new recipe was one that I had been dying to make since I saw it in Everyday Food Magazine, Tandoori-style chicken. This simple marinade was easy to make and the flavor profile was not overwhelming, just incredibly delicious. Slight sourness from the yogurt and lemon juice, with a nice kick from the spices, paired with a beautiful fragrant aroma from the ginger.
I picked up on a step from Aarti Sequeira that Indian food often calls for ginger and garlic, and that you can save a couple of steps by dicing the two ingredients in a food processor with some vegetable oil, and save the extra in an air tight container in the refrigerator for future recipes, up to about two weeks. If you have not caught Aarti's new show on the Food Network on Saturday mornings at 7:30 a.m., it is definitely worth setting your alarm for. She gracefully battles the misconception that Indian food is complicated to make with a lot of airy charm and quiet wit, and is very good at teaching helpful tricks that anyone can use.
In addition to my old standbys I also tried something new for me - braised kale. Kale has been hailed as one of the new super foods and has made headlines in most of the major health and fitness magazines and food publications over the last 12 months. It's high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium, and a host of other nutrients that I can't spell. I cooked it like I would wilted spinach and flavored it with a bit of lemon. I wouldn't say that it was on my top ten list for vegetables, but it wasn't too bad. I'm definitely going to try a couple of different methods of cooking it, so stay tuned.
What kind of food do you love, that no one else will eat with you?
Thursday, March 22, 2012
It's Here!
In honor of Ree's new cookbook release I decided to make a PW favorite, fried round steak or in my household minute steak. Now I would really like you to believe that I'm so organized that I planned to prepare this meal, but the truth is my plan was to go to Walmart. And then this happened...
And so, minute steak was on the menu for the night. A great use-it-up dish served with whole wheat mac 'n cheese, green beans and fresh strawberries.
I'd like to think that Ree would have done the same thing!
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