Sweetest Day

Just so you know, I'm not always looking for the easiest, most processed way to cook dinner for my family. On Sweetest Day, I ventured to my favorite website for recipes in search of one for salmon. This is another one of those meals that we had a 'kid dinner' and then an adult dinner after they were in bed - in celebration of Sweetest Day (and the 13th anniversary of our first date!) The kids DO eat salmon, but they missed out on this meal.

I love this site because it is composed of recipes submitted by individuals, but also with a great system for reviews and ratings.

I selected a salmon and creamy dill sauce recipe. I'm not a huge fan of dill, but there were many recipes on the site that paired salmon and dill, so i figured they must know something I didn't.

So I followed the recipe (for the most part!) by putting the salmon fillet on a sheet of aluminum foil and sprinkling it with lemon pepper and garlic salt. Then I topped it with some thin slices of onion, lemon and some pats of butter and closed it all up for baking.

While it baked, I mixed up the creamy dill sauce - comprised of mayo, sour cream, dill, finely chopped onions, garlic salt, and a tad bit of horseradish.


After initial baking, the salmon was broiled for a bit to finish it off.

I served it with wild rice and green beans and it was INCREDIBLE. Hurray for another successful recipe search on the web!

Everybody loves pie!

And Shepherd's Pie is no different! This fantastic all-in-one meal is SO easy, it's crazy - and very tasty to the hubby and the yahoos. It hearkens us back to England and our pub-fare days (though we would typically order the bangers and mash or fish and chips, the shepherd's pie is good, too!)

So here's how i make it...

Many of the above pictured ingredients COULD be made from scratch - nice, creamy, homemade mashed potatoes...gravy leftover from last night's pot roast...and for that matter, last night's pot roast. I, however, VERY rarely cook like that. This meal is much more processed (and I'm sure high in sodium), but it's easy and it's not fast food.


So - a box (or two) of steak-um like meat things. Cook these up in a frying pan. I have made this with ground beef before, but we prefer the steak-ums.

This becomes layer Number One in your baking dish.

Layer Number Two is your frozen vegetables. I've used the carrot/pea/corn/green bean mixture, which is the most popular, or just corn and green beans. There's some out there with lima beans in them (which i despise) but I'm sure would be enjoyable to some of you.

Layer Number Three is the gravy. I have been known to add TOO much gravy, and then it ends up boiling over. Really one and a half of these jars would be perfect.

Make up the mashed potatoes according to the directions on the box. Sometimes I've gotten fancy with how I put Layer Number Four on there - with my Pampered Chef Accent Decorator, making pretty little swirls. Sometimes I just spread (and I use that term loosely) the potatoes on the top - it's not easy, I don't recommend that method. On this night, I used a scoop, which worked beautifully.

Now it's ready to hit the 425 degree oven for about half an hour, til it looks like this.

And because it's got your meat, veggie and starch all in one, you can serve with just a salad, or a breadstick and feel good about yourself. So that's what I did.

yellow

Sometimes it's fun to plan a meal that centers all around one color. My middle school home ec teacher, Mrs. Johnson, would disagree strongly with me, as part of our grade included whether we had a good variety of colors on our plate. But for meals with young children, it's fun to make them all one color sometimes, too!

So I present to you, our 'yellow' meal:

Our 'ingredients' - fresh pineapple spears, direct from Hawaii. Even Lilly, who doesn't eat a lot of fruit, and really doesn't like pineapple, ate several of these. Most of you reading this blog will probably have to settle for the Meijer version of this fruit...shameful.

Pork tenderloin - I make many of these, in a variety of ways. This particular one was a Meijer marinated version that I baked. The kids enjoy pork quite a bit, regardless of the flavor (though Jason's favorite by far is slow-cooked with saurkraut).

Our side dish tonight was "Cheesy Rice". I typically use Minute Rice because even though rice isn't hard to cook, Minute Rice takes just minutes...duh. For this recipe I mixed in several slices of processed cheese...you can use small cubes of Velveeta, too. Then I sprinkled it with parsley to make it look like I'm a fancy cook. A fancy cook that makes Minute Rice.

And finally, for our vegetable this evening, I present the ever popular corn.

What color will your meal tonight be??

ribs and fries

One of our new summertime favorites!

Pork spareribs...SO yummy, and really SO easy to make! We have them with relative frequency, particularly when they are on sale! My kids love them so much, one rack is barely enough.

Here's how I make them:

I start with my rack(s) of ribs, some ground black pepper and what we refer to as "Special Salt" in our house - a.k.a. Lawry's Seasoned Salt.


Sprinkle ribs with Special Salt and then Ground Pepper. (You can reverse this order! :) ) Also, if you like things with a 'kick' add more black pepper.


Rub slightly.

Put onto a cookie sheet (I always cover mine with foil cause then washing, which I DESPISE, is much easier). You can see here with two racks, I use my broiler pan for one - with the bottom layer covered with foil for that 'easier clean up' idea.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, sometimes a bit more. This is essentially cooking the ribs completely, but nice and slowly. This can be done much earlier in the day than the meal you intend to ingest it for.

When you're getting ready to eat, heat the grill to low and throw the ribs on there. Grill enough to completely heat through and infuse the ribs with 'grilling flavors'.

Look how yummy they look when they're done! Cut apart and serve!


To help make this meal complete, I frequently make one of my favorites - Sweet Potato Fries. While not a favorite of the kids, they can be cooked in tandem with regular potato fries, which are a favorite of kids (particularly when a big bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch is handy).

Start by peeling some Sweet Potatoes and slicing them into fry-like bite-size pieces. Throw them into a large ziploc bag and drizzle in some olive oil (not too much!) and some salt and pepper. Shake to coat.


I always cook my fries on my Pampered Chef stoneware as opposed to a regular metal cookie sheet. It helps the moisture evaporate better and can give them a bit more of cooked outer coating (I would not say that they really ever get crispy because I cook so many at a time...but if I actually spread them out more, they would crisp much better on the stoneware. (This picture is deceiving, because usually I have twice as many on the pan at one time!)

The fries will bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, depending on how many you have in there, and I monitor them and try to flip them at least once while cooking.

How delicious!!! I could eat a million of these....really.

no cooking?

Holy cow, you'd think I stopped cooking!

Actually, that is partially true - in the months of April and May, when I'm gearing up for the Mega Meet and recovering from it, I do significantly less cooking. Then comes summer, when we're cooking on the grill, or camping, and while some of our camping meals are 'creative', I'm not sure they're blog worthy!

However, I do have a few 'recipes' saved up here that I'll share soon, so stay tuned...and with summer rapidly coming to a close (it's AUGUST already!??!?) we'll be back into family dinners full swing soon!

Lettuce celebrate...

...a birthday dinner choice! Asian Lettuce Rolls
This recipe is a variation of a Pampered Chef one...and while I make a very simplified version of it, which is still good, there are several ways it could be altered that would make it GREAT!

The Yahoos LOVE this meal - it is requested frequently, and you can tell it's level of popularity because it was chosen as a "Birthday Dinner" entree - the one they pick above all else to enjoy on their birthday!

So here it is: SO SIMPLE -

Ingredients :
Leaf Lettuce

Chicken (I've made this now with chicken chunks or tenderloins, or cut up breasts, or rotisserie chicken from the store...whatever you have handy)

Onion - usually I used green onions

Ramen Noodles (recipe calls for the "Oriental" flavoring, I usually use Chicken because that's what I buy by the millions at Sams Club)

The original recipe also calls for the addition of other vegetables, cut in small enough slices or strips to add to the rolls - carrots, cucumbers, etc.

You can cook the chicken plain, or which some soy sauce or teriyaki, or do some sort of Asian-inspired marinade (we have a great orange-ginger one that I think would be fabulous!).

Cook up the noodles and drain and then add your seasoning. I usually add some soy sauce to the 'included' ramen seasoning. Throw in the onions and mix it up.

If your chicken is 'chunked' you can mix it with the noodles, too. We most often do that. Last night, since we were using tenderloin strips, we just layered our rolls instead of having all the ingredients mixed together.

Then throw it on the table - Lettuce, Chicken and Noodles.


And then layer your rolls that same way! The Yahoos and Druggy sprinkle theirs with Frank's Red Hot and then roll and enjoy. I pour a little Sweet and Sour sauce on mine. Delicious!!

Creamy Spinach & Mushroom Ravioli

This is an easy, peasy recipe with some level of health to it! Can you believe I can get my kids to eat spinach?? Here's how I do it:

It starts with a package of refrigerated ravioli (I usually buy the four cheese), a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup and some fresh spinach and onion.

Boil the ravioli per the instructions on the package.


In a skillet, warm the onions, spinach (which I chopped slightly, but was still fresh) and the soup. Heat this on medium or so. The soup will start to thin and the spinach will start to cook.

When the ravioli is done boiling, drain and add to the skillet (this requires a BIG skillet, obviously). Stir it up carefully so as to not damage the ravioli and then serve. SO easy and SO good!

cobble, cobble

Turkey goes with Thanksgiving.

Peach Cobbler goes with Easter.

Say what? Yes, you read that correctly. Though I guess what I really should say is that Peach Cobbler goes with Good Friday.

Always.

I eat Peach Cobbler once a year. I don't know when it started, but I'm guessing it's been my whole life (minus the occasional Good Friday that fell over spring break, though often, if we were already in the condo as opposed to in motion, it was made!). Growing up we ate our peach cobbler for dinner, with milk. There was as time when I was a bit older, my Bro and I joined the relatives for cobblering - and I came to find out that some of them ate their cobbler for dinner with ICE CREAM. I felt robbed.

If you have 'wheat bowls' - you eat your cobbler out of this vessel. They are yellow bowls, with a white circle center, with, get this, a picture of wheat. They are china, and have a gold rim - making it a BAD idea to reheat cobbler in the microwave in a wheat bowl. I do not have wheat bowls. I believe my father to be in possession of the family collection, and unfortunately, he didn't bring them for this year's consumption (which was at my house). He won't be making that mistake again.

When I met Druggy, his family wasn't all that receptive to the idea of eating just cobbler for dinner. So, when we're with them, I make the cobbler for dessert and usually manage to choke down whatever it is that my mother-in-law is serving. It's a real sacrifice for me, as she's usually serving lobster. The horror.

On with the cobbler. Here's 'my' - aka, my mother's recipe. It's never the same twice, but it's always good - perfect for GOOD Friday.

It starts with Bisquick. I make the recipe for biscuits and then I add a bit of sugar and some cinnamon (or a mixture of cinnamon and other cinnamon-y spices - like nutmeg). These series of pictures were taken at my in-laws, and thus, the background provides some interesting tidbits. The one related to this picture is the FF on the milk...meaning fat free. Such a thing does not exist in my house.

After the cobbles are mixed up, I turn to the pan and peaches. I always use canned peaches. I know my mom has sometimes mixed frozen and canned. The frozen have a much stiffer consistency, and I prefer mush, so for me, it's canned. I use about 3 of the large cans for the 9 x 13 sized pan.

It was at this point in my pictoral documentary of peach cobbler making that my MIL wanted to know why she didn't get any attention with the blog and picture taking. So here she is cutting up the lobster for the kids' plates.

Back to cobbler - though the lobster looks good doesn't it?? Okay, once the peaches are in the pan I sprinkle them with flour (this helps thicken the sauce that also went into the pan with the peaches...so um, don't drain them). And because I so love cinnamon, I sprinkle them with that, too. Lots of that.


Next comes adding the cobbles. You can be really anal-retentive and roll them out like biscuits and use a cute little cutter and then lovingly place the cobbles on top of the peaches in some cute pattern. Or, you can do what I do and treat the cobbles like drop biscuits. (The fun tidbit in the background in this picture is the butter warmers for the lobster. I'm the only one in the family that eats mine with 'plain' butter, as opposed to lemon pepper butter. So there's a two-fer on the fun fact tidbits).


And so this is what it looks like when it's headed into a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.


And this is what it's gooey, warm goodness looks like when it's ready to eat. I would recommend ice cream. But milk works too. Or just plain. And always make enough for breakfast the next morning.

kid dinners vs. not

For many years, Druggy's work hours dictated our dinner time....and by our, I mean his and mine....not for the yahoos...as they were typically in bed when Druggy returned home from work. Thus was born "kid dinners" - dinners we made for the kids that are kid foods. Hot dogs, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets and ramen noodles are staples on our kid dinners menu.

With Druggy's new job, family dinners were born. The kids LOVE when I'm gone for the weekend and they are treated to Druggy's cooking - kid dinners. And sometimes, Druggy and I long for the days for kid-less dinners.

This meal is one of those meals, which we 'treat' ourselves to a couple times a month.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Buffalo Wings

Here's how my dip starts - and I have to say, it has never been made the same way twice, but it always tastes great (well, except the one time that I forgot the garlic - OMG - THE HORROR!)
Anyway - fresh spinach, sour cream, mayo (NOT to be confused with Miracle Whip), garlic and then the most variable items are the cheese - I shoot for both parm and mozzerlla if I have them both....if not, I use what I have!

Chop the spinach to get ready to cook. Why the fresh vs. frozen? Because. That's why.
Throw the chopped spinach into a microwave safe bowl with a tablespoon or two of water and throw (well, not literally) into the microwave for 2 -3 minutes. I use about a 1/2 pound of spinach per batch of dip.

While the spinach is cooking, chop the artichokes. I buy a can of marniated artichoke hearts - one can makes two dip batches...so I fridge or freeze the remainder for the next batch.


Once the spinach is cooked, drain out the water and then throw in the rest of the ingredients. About 3/4 cups of sour cream and 1/2 cup of mayo, a couple cloves of the garlic, some good shakes of the parm cheese and a 1/2 cup or so of mozz cheese. One of my favorite kitchen tools, by far, is my Pampered Chef garlic press. A MUST have for any fresh garlic lover. MUST.

Mix.

Put into a baking dish. I use the Pampered Chef small oval baker - I love the size not only for the portion, but also because it fits into my toaster oven!


So toss it into the toaster oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so - when it's nice and toasty, bubbling with a bit of brown.

Now on to the Buffalo Wings. I get the family pack of wings which makes enough for one dinner for Druggy and I together, and leftovers for Druggy later in the week (sometimes the very next day...Druggy could eat wings 5 nights a week. And, in fact, has on occasion. But I digress).

Druggy makes the buffalo wings. Always. I do not make wings. Ever.

Here's what he does (I think). Cut the wings to separate the flats from the drumettes. He cooks them on a foil covered cookie sheet that has been liberally sprayed with cooking spray (he also sprays the tops of the wings to protect them from sticking after their mid-baking flip).
They cook for 40 minutes (in 15 minute intervals for flipping - well, the last one is only 10 minutes) at 400 degrees. In the meantime, he starts the sauce, which is one stick of real butter, melted slowly on the stove with the 'right' amount of Frank's Red Hot added. As a general rule, the taste of the Red Hot concoction on the stove is always hotter/spicier than what it tastes like in combo with the wings...so when you think it's just right, add more.

Druggy lovingly dunks each flat and drumette into the sauce and places in the bowl, and then pours the remaining sauce over top. I will not describe the grotesque consumption of the half-congealed sauce from the bowl following the very diligent wing consumption. The man can pick those bones cleaner than a buzzard does a carcass.

Then dinner is served.


We don't often have the celery and ranch with the wings (neither of us care for blue cheese all that much) . We serve the dip with just about anything we have in the house - pita chips, tortilla chips, bagel chips (I'm sensing a theme), Triscuits...sometimes all of the above.


Enjoy this adult meal while watching your newly arrived Netflix selection because you're never able to escape the yahoos long enough to eat this dinner in a restaurant and enjoy a movie in a theater. Then you'll be just like us.

a new look

My previous "design", if you can call it that, was a generic template that looked very Betty Crocker...and despite the fact that this is a cooking based blog, I am about the farthest thing from Betty...and therefore, my blog needs to reflect more ME, and less Betty.

So here it is. My new look. At least for now.

meatloaf

It's not that I have any great secrets for this popular meat and potatoes meal...but there's a couple of stories that go with it:

Druggy's first meal at my parents' house - meatloaf.

Some ingredients known to be found in my dad's meatloaf recipes - carrots and/or raisins.

And here's a 'full story version' of one...

A few years ago, when Druggy and I were living close to my elderly grandparents, we gifted them meals with our family (we were aiming for 26 - every other week, but I think we maybe got to 10!). We would pack up all the ingredients and the kids and head over to their house to cook dinner with them...often on a Sunday night. I used this time to try out some new recipes and to cook things that I knew they both liked, but didn't have the ability to make for themselves anymore. One of those things was meatloaf. I was talking to my Aunt prior to that meal to get the low-down on my grandfather's preferences (cause you may not know this, but um...our family can maybe have a bit of a "we're particular - meaning obsessive compulsive" kind of streak in us). So before making the meatloaf, I needed to confer with an elder.

She told me two things. One I now abide by in all my ground meat cooking - only use ground sirloin. My grandfather would accept nothing less...and let me tell you, I now know why. I can't go back to using anything else. Second thing was to leave the leftovers so that my grandfather would be able to enjoy a cold meatloaf sandwich on a future day. The thought of this made me shudder, but who's to argue with childhood favorites.

So tonight's recipe/dinner is meat and potatoes - Meatloaf and Pierogies

Here's how I started:

Can you see all my cheaters for this meal? The Italian bread crumbs - not that making bread crumbs, or chunks for that matter, is hard...but I buy one of these tubes and can use it for loads of things and it lasts me awhile. So that's what I use. The critical element in my meatloaf, mini-meatloaves, and meatballs is the Lipton Beefy Onion seasoning. I use the meatloaf recipe on the back and we love it. Tonight's dinner also resulted in today's KQOTD from Yahoo #2:

I love meatloaf.
I want to marry it.
And then we can have babies.
And they'd be small.
And then I could EAT them!

So I follow the recipe on the Lipton seasoning. Sometimes I make one loaf. Sometimes I make mini-loaves, or meatballs. Tonight was mini-loaves, which I bake in my Pampered Chef mini-loaf stoneware. Very convenient for making mini-loaves. Mash all the ingredients together and cook it at 350 degrees until it's done...my meatballs take about 20 minutes, the mini-loaves about 30-35 and the 'whole loaf' would take about 50 minutes.

Next comes the pierogies. I fell in love with pierogies in college. In my now post-college life, I had to find a way to satisfy that craving. I've found that this frozen-food section brand is my favorite - oh, and look at that nice graphic on the box - PERFECT!

Now, it has been mentioned to me that I probably shouldn't label any of these meals as healthy - because really, I am still using a quite a bit of processed food. Then, when I went to prepare tonight's pierogies, I realized that I should probably second that motion - as I flopped the four pats of real butter down in the pan to saute these puppies up in.

I think the pierogies make a great potato side dish alternative, instead of the usual mashed (from a box, of course) or any one of the variety of 'frozen potatoes' we indulge in - fries, tater tots, mini-tater tots, crispy crowns, zesties, crunchies, crinkle...well, you get the point. I serve these with a dollop of sour cream.

I threw some steamed broccoli on the plate for tonight's veggie. Voila, another fast and easy dinner. And at least the reduced fat content in the ground sirloin balances sauteing the pierogies in butter, right?