Ok, corny title I know. but tonight I made two dinners. One, for me and the kids. And the other, for Bob to make in the slow cooker tomorrow while I'm at work.
The first one is simple: Black beans with orzo. You may say, "what?! black beans again?". This is true. However, it is cheap, super-easy, and the kids eat it. and Bob hates orzo for some odd reason and he is at a Yankee game tonight. This is a dish which i used to make pre-kids, when we'd come home from work at 8 and need something quick to fix. I got Bob to eat it then for some reason.
Basically, you cook 1/2 box orzo according to package directions and drain.
saute 1 small chopped onion and 1 chopped garlic clove in some olive oil until soft. add one can of drained rinsed black beans. add a sprinkle of Italian herbs, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. simmer until heated and then either mix in the orzo or serve on top of orzo.
Dinner #2: Hungarian Goulash
This is not your typical Summer weather dish. It does make a lot, though, so i have a few meals to freeze. I will make this the night before, and then I can trust Bob (usually) to turn the crockpot on so this cooks while he's home with the kids and I'm at work. He just makes some buttered egg noodles and some frozen veggies and we're set. This recipe is a conglomerate of 2-3 recipes I found online.
3 lb. Chuck Roast, trimmed of fat and cut into small cubes
1 beef buillion packet
1 can tomato paste
4-6 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
Hungarian sweet paprika, about 2 tablespoons
one slice bacon (optional)
olive oil
1/2 cup water
thyme
white wine vinegar
First, sear your meat in a hot pan with some fat until browned on all sides;
One recipe i saw says to saute a slice of bacon until cooked and then remove bacon from pan. Use that to saute your meat. I've done this, but most of the time I use a tablespoon of olive oil.
Place meat in crockpot. Saute onions and garlic in a little more olive oil in same pan, until softened and starting to brown. Place them in crockpot. add buillion, paprika, tomato paste, some salt, black pepper if you want. Add 1/2 cup water. Cook on low in crockpot 8 hours low, 5-6 hours on high (depends on the age of your crockpot). When meat is done, add a sprinkle of thyme, and also a sprinkle of white wine vinegar and stir. serve over buttered egg noodles. A dollop of sour cream on top and even some caraway seeds sprinkled over the meat are a good finish.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Awesome Pasta Salad: Orzo with Roasted Vegetables
Wow, how time flies! Lately I have been spending too much on lunch while I'm at work. Panera Bread is across the street from me and it keeps calling to me. So tonight I whipped up a batch of pasta salad to take to work. This stuff is awesome. Now I realize it's not the cheapest pasta salad to make, but it's probably still better than shelling out 8 bucks a pop for the "U Pick 2" at Panera. And by having lunch at work I can free up some time to do errands too. This pasta salad is from a Cooking Light message board, which in turn someone got from the Barefoot Contessa. I leave out the eggplant. I think I added zucchini instead once.
Orzo with Roasted Vegetables
1 small eggplant -- peeled and 3/4-inch diced
1 red bell pepper -- 1-inch diced
1 yellow bell pepper -- 1-inch diced
1 red onion -- peeled and 1-inch diced
2 garlic cloves -- minced
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound orzo or rice-shaped pasta
For the dressing:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
To assemble:
4 scallions -- minced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts) -- toasted
3/4 pound good feta -- 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
15 fresh basil leaves -- cut into julienne
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.
Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.
For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature.
Source:
"Barefoot Contessa Parties!"
Orzo with Roasted Vegetables
1 small eggplant -- peeled and 3/4-inch diced
1 red bell pepper -- 1-inch diced
1 yellow bell pepper -- 1-inch diced
1 red onion -- peeled and 1-inch diced
2 garlic cloves -- minced
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound orzo or rice-shaped pasta
For the dressing:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
To assemble:
4 scallions -- minced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts) -- toasted
3/4 pound good feta -- 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
15 fresh basil leaves -- cut into julienne
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.
Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.
For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature.
Source:
"Barefoot Contessa Parties!"
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Successful Crock Pot Experiment: Southwestern Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Wednesday nights are hard when it comes to planning dinner. Bob is home with the kids and I don't get home until late. So it falls to him to provide nourishment for the family. I have to leave a detailed note of what Bob is to make the kids for lunch, dinner and snacks. Otherwise, as Bob says, he would just stand clueless in front of the open fridge and spin in hopeless circles; cooking is just NOT his forte. More often than not, dinner will consist of some shape of pasta and sauce and Perdue turkey meatballs. Maybe a bag of frozen veggies if we're lucky. It is difficult to decide what he should make. He can handle a simple hot dog and bean casserole (a.k.a. beanie weenie). Or we have reheated meals which I have in the freezer. Occasionally I can get him to make a salad. Being tired of coming home after a long day to beanie weenie and the like, I turned to my trusty crock pot last night and created a concoction that worked really well! All Bob had to do was to plug in the crock pot; I had to leave multiple notes and he still turned it on 1/2 hour late but all ended up ok in the end.
"Southwestern" Turkey Stuffed Peppers
This turned out great and I didn't have to use a lot of turkey. Beans and corn really stretched the meal, and make it healthier too!
Four large red peppers, tops cut off and seeded (save the tops)
1 can drained and rinsed black beans
3/4 cup frozen corn
1/2 lb. ground turkey
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
garlic powder, salt, chili powder
1 cup chunky salsa, divided (I used mild since the kids were eating it)
1/2 cup shredded low-fat Mexican cheese blend.
Mix together in bowl: beans, corn, turkey, rice, 1/4 cup salsa, and then salt, garlic powder and chili powder. I probably used only about a few sprinkles of each seasoning, but you can adjust to taste.
stuff peppers with meat mixture. top each pepper with some cheese and then top with the reserved pepper top. place in crock pot. pour remaining salsa over top, add about 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook on high power for 4-5 hours, depending on your crock pot. I have to say that my crock pot cooks very hot. also I stuffed the peppers and put it all together in the crockpot the night before. I don't know if the rice cooked better because it had time to soak up some liquid as it sat.
One more note: I actually only made 2 peppers last night; the kids don't like cooked pepper so i took some of the turkey mixture, added a little bit of bread crumbs and then formed it into a loaf. i poured some of the salsa over it and cooked it right along with the peppers. I didn't see the final result but I know the baby ate it! A meal is always a success if one kid likes it.
"Southwestern" Turkey Stuffed Peppers
This turned out great and I didn't have to use a lot of turkey. Beans and corn really stretched the meal, and make it healthier too!
Four large red peppers, tops cut off and seeded (save the tops)
1 can drained and rinsed black beans
3/4 cup frozen corn
1/2 lb. ground turkey
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
garlic powder, salt, chili powder
1 cup chunky salsa, divided (I used mild since the kids were eating it)
1/2 cup shredded low-fat Mexican cheese blend.
Mix together in bowl: beans, corn, turkey, rice, 1/4 cup salsa, and then salt, garlic powder and chili powder. I probably used only about a few sprinkles of each seasoning, but you can adjust to taste.
stuff peppers with meat mixture. top each pepper with some cheese and then top with the reserved pepper top. place in crock pot. pour remaining salsa over top, add about 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook on high power for 4-5 hours, depending on your crock pot. I have to say that my crock pot cooks very hot. also I stuffed the peppers and put it all together in the crockpot the night before. I don't know if the rice cooked better because it had time to soak up some liquid as it sat.
One more note: I actually only made 2 peppers last night; the kids don't like cooked pepper so i took some of the turkey mixture, added a little bit of bread crumbs and then formed it into a loaf. i poured some of the salsa over it and cooked it right along with the peppers. I didn't see the final result but I know the baby ate it! A meal is always a success if one kid likes it.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Beans and Rice are Nice!
I've been trying to figure out ways to cut costs on food AND get out of the meal rut at home. I get tired of making the same things over and over again. When we were all in Florida a few weeks back, Bob and I got a chance to eat out at a Cuban restaurant and had black bean soup over rice. Now, I remember my mom making that at home when I was a kid. I actually did a lot of the cooking once my mom went back to work full time (My mom gave me the choice of cooking or washing the dishes). So black bean soup and rice was really easy for me to put together. Heat up two cans of soup, serve over white rice, and top with some chopped sweet onion. Voila!
So last week I opened up a couple cans of Goya black bean soup for the family, served over some white basmati rice. I put a plateful in front of the baby. I then turned around to get Amy a drink and turned back around and all the beans were gone from Samantha's plate! Same thing happened for another plateful and a half. She just inhaled it! Now I know Samantha loves rice but she loved the beans even more! So I considered this a success. My older daughter of course ate the rice. And a few leaves of baby spinach (dipped in ketchup, of course). I think the next time I make this, I may just have to make my own black bean soup. The Goya soup had over 1000 mg of salt per serving (a wee bit too much, in my opinion). Otherwise this was a good source of fiber and protein and was low fat (and easy and cheap!). One of my crock pot books has a great recipe for Cuban Black Bean Soup. It freezes really well.
So last week I opened up a couple cans of Goya black bean soup for the family, served over some white basmati rice. I put a plateful in front of the baby. I then turned around to get Amy a drink and turned back around and all the beans were gone from Samantha's plate! Same thing happened for another plateful and a half. She just inhaled it! Now I know Samantha loves rice but she loved the beans even more! So I considered this a success. My older daughter of course ate the rice. And a few leaves of baby spinach (dipped in ketchup, of course). I think the next time I make this, I may just have to make my own black bean soup. The Goya soup had over 1000 mg of salt per serving (a wee bit too much, in my opinion). Otherwise this was a good source of fiber and protein and was low fat (and easy and cheap!). One of my crock pot books has a great recipe for Cuban Black Bean Soup. It freezes really well.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Birthday Comfort Food: Comfort Definately Needed
Today was husband Bob's birthday. He loves when I make comfort food, it reminds him of his mom's cooking. Comfort food was definitely a good thing for tonight, as our 4 year-old is going thru "terrible 4's" (never knew there was such a thing). Yesterday, our babysitter had her in the longest time-out known to mankind. This is our angelic child, who usually is loved by all her teachers and her babysitter. She usually only tries to act up and assert her independence with me, since I'm the parents who is home the most. The last month has been a test of wills.
Today was finally a bit better. So I was able to find time to make bob his birthday dinner:
Chicken Pie
This is based on my mom's recipe. Basically, you take some leftover chicken and chop it up. Mix with a can of cream of chicken soup and half a can of water in a Pyrex pie plate. thrown in some frozen peas and carrots and then top with instant mashed potatoes and sprinkle with paprika. bake until potatoes a bit crispy and contents are hot.
I've varied this a bit. My mom usually would use a chicken leftover from making homemade soup. I usually buy a chicken from Sams Club and hack it up and use it for this dish and stuff like chicken salad. I like fresh carrots so I'll throw those in. It just takes a really long time in the oven for this mixture to warm up, which is tough when time is at a premium (i.e. 20 month-old is yelling at me for dinner).
My updated recipe: chop up some carrots (usually baby since that's what's in the house). throw them in the pie plate with a little water and nuke until tender. drain the water, then throw in frozen peas, reduced fat/salt cream of chicken soup and 1/2 can water, along with chopped roast chicken. nuke this mixture until heated thru a bit. then top with mashed potatoes and paprika and throw in oven. I usually will make my own mashed potatoes (Yukon golds with skim milk and a little butter) -or- buy pre-made mashed potatoes from the produce aisle. i don't love the instant ones.
tonight I cheated a bit and used a 1/2 can whole milk instead of water, and used whole milk in the mashed potatoes. SO good. and I roasted a head of garlic and spread that on rolls.
we felt better after this dinner. Especially when followed by a Wegmans Ultimate Chocolate Cake!
Notes: the picky now-evil 4-year-old eats the chicken plain, carrots plain and no mashed. i just put these things on the side before I mix the rest of it together.
also, put the pie plate on top of a cookie sheet so that the contents don't drip into your oven.
Note: I know this is now May 7th and this blog is from April 27. Oops, sorry, I'm a little behind!
Today was finally a bit better. So I was able to find time to make bob his birthday dinner:
Chicken Pie
This is based on my mom's recipe. Basically, you take some leftover chicken and chop it up. Mix with a can of cream of chicken soup and half a can of water in a Pyrex pie plate. thrown in some frozen peas and carrots and then top with instant mashed potatoes and sprinkle with paprika. bake until potatoes a bit crispy and contents are hot.
I've varied this a bit. My mom usually would use a chicken leftover from making homemade soup. I usually buy a chicken from Sams Club and hack it up and use it for this dish and stuff like chicken salad. I like fresh carrots so I'll throw those in. It just takes a really long time in the oven for this mixture to warm up, which is tough when time is at a premium (i.e. 20 month-old is yelling at me for dinner).
My updated recipe: chop up some carrots (usually baby since that's what's in the house). throw them in the pie plate with a little water and nuke until tender. drain the water, then throw in frozen peas, reduced fat/salt cream of chicken soup and 1/2 can water, along with chopped roast chicken. nuke this mixture until heated thru a bit. then top with mashed potatoes and paprika and throw in oven. I usually will make my own mashed potatoes (Yukon golds with skim milk and a little butter) -or- buy pre-made mashed potatoes from the produce aisle. i don't love the instant ones.
tonight I cheated a bit and used a 1/2 can whole milk instead of water, and used whole milk in the mashed potatoes. SO good. and I roasted a head of garlic and spread that on rolls.
we felt better after this dinner. Especially when followed by a Wegmans Ultimate Chocolate Cake!
Notes: the picky now-evil 4-year-old eats the chicken plain, carrots plain and no mashed. i just put these things on the side before I mix the rest of it together.
also, put the pie plate on top of a cookie sheet so that the contents don't drip into your oven.
Note: I know this is now May 7th and this blog is from April 27. Oops, sorry, I'm a little behind!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Welcome
Let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a full-time mom and part-time optometrist. My optometrist husband and our two little girls live in central New Jersey with our two cats. We live the typical suburban life.
Is it just me, or do other moms feel that they need at least two more hours in their day? It is absolutely crazy how I run around all day, from the moment the kids get up until they go to bed. It's already 10:20 P.M., I have to get up at 6:30 on Saturday (yuck..i will never get used to that, even after 12 years in my profession). I REALLY should go to bed right now. But instead I am discovering a new way to fuel my internet addiction.
My goal here is to have a place to write down all those little pesky bits of information that I yearn to pass on to SOMEONE. If I discover something new that works in the kitchen, or with the kids, I can't wait to share it with someone. And sometimes I just need to vent a little. This is not the type of info one would immediately get on the phone and yap to their friends, but it's stuff that would be useful at some point to somebody. So if you want to read this, great! I hope you glean something from it. Otherwise, this blog may just serve as a place for me to archive stuff and vent a little. That's fine with me.
Recipe Ramble of the Day:
It's Passover, and one dish I will make for the family (and my mom made when i was a kid) was something called "Hamburgers, Potatoes and Onions". It basically involves cooking down some onions, throwing in some hamburger patties, browning the patties and then covering and cooking until the hamburgers are done. after that, you remove the burgers, cook the onions some more and toss in some boiled cut up potatoes. Pretty good comfort food, except that the hamburgers resemble hockey pucks when done, in taste and texture. Gordon Ramsay would throw them against the wall in a second (gotta watch Hell's Kitchen to appreciate).
Today I did something a little different. I've read in a few magazines about adding bread soaked in a little milk to a meat mixture to make it moist. so I took the ground beef, added a couple of spoonfuls of matzoh meal and a little bit of milk (ok, not kosher, but i'm not). You could probably use a little broth instead. Then I formed burgers and cooked as usual. The burgers were SO much better!!
Is it just me, or do other moms feel that they need at least two more hours in their day? It is absolutely crazy how I run around all day, from the moment the kids get up until they go to bed. It's already 10:20 P.M., I have to get up at 6:30 on Saturday (yuck..i will never get used to that, even after 12 years in my profession). I REALLY should go to bed right now. But instead I am discovering a new way to fuel my internet addiction.
My goal here is to have a place to write down all those little pesky bits of information that I yearn to pass on to SOMEONE. If I discover something new that works in the kitchen, or with the kids, I can't wait to share it with someone. And sometimes I just need to vent a little. This is not the type of info one would immediately get on the phone and yap to their friends, but it's stuff that would be useful at some point to somebody. So if you want to read this, great! I hope you glean something from it. Otherwise, this blog may just serve as a place for me to archive stuff and vent a little. That's fine with me.
Recipe Ramble of the Day:
It's Passover, and one dish I will make for the family (and my mom made when i was a kid) was something called "Hamburgers, Potatoes and Onions". It basically involves cooking down some onions, throwing in some hamburger patties, browning the patties and then covering and cooking until the hamburgers are done. after that, you remove the burgers, cook the onions some more and toss in some boiled cut up potatoes. Pretty good comfort food, except that the hamburgers resemble hockey pucks when done, in taste and texture. Gordon Ramsay would throw them against the wall in a second (gotta watch Hell's Kitchen to appreciate).
Today I did something a little different. I've read in a few magazines about adding bread soaked in a little milk to a meat mixture to make it moist. so I took the ground beef, added a couple of spoonfuls of matzoh meal and a little bit of milk (ok, not kosher, but i'm not). You could probably use a little broth instead. Then I formed burgers and cooked as usual. The burgers were SO much better!!
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